The Banquet

Starring: Zhang Ziyi, Ge You, Daniel Wu Yin-cho, Zhou Xun

Director: Feng Xiaogang

Category: IIA (Putonghua)

Gorgeous, solemn, and oh, so important, this Shakespearean look at ancient China is cinematic lustre in search of a soul. Feng Xiaogang, a master of movie satire, shows he's capable of turning off the laughs and creating an epic to match Zhang Yimou or Ang Lee in scope and drama. The seemingly foolproof recipe includes a cast and crew of the nation's leading stars and technicians. The eye is awed - but after 130 minutes, the feast leaves the senses gorged and the emotions unsatisfied.

Set during the dynastic upheavals of the early 10th century, the ambitious script (by Sheng Heyu and Qiu Gangjian) injects elements of Hamlet and Macbeth into court intrigues half-a-world away from Denmark and Scotland.

The central figure is Wan (Zhang Ziyi), an empress whose husband has been murdered by his brother, Li (Ge You), a despot who lusts after his sister-in-law and is determined to make her his queen. A regal manipulator, Wan is willing to play the game to establish her own sceptre and protect Wu Luan (Daniel Wu), the handsome stepson four years her senior. Wan's chief rival for Wu Luan's affections is the virginal aristocrat Qing Nu (Zhou Xun), whose warrior brother (Huang Xiaoming) plays a pivotal role in the life-and-death struggles that consume both them and the nation.