Aventurina King

I just finished watching the first half of Red Cliff, a 2 CD Chinese blockbuster that stars Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung. They are China’s two hottest male actors, and up to now, the only apparent reason for the film’s box office success.

The movie’s bad because the Chinese high-budget war epic has been done tens of times in exactly the same way: screaming violins, slow-motions, pained expressions and blood … blood … blood.
It’s also bad because scenes are forced to fit a purpose, instead of naturally forwarding the plot. Takeshi Kaneshiro plays a brilliant army strategist with heart. Proof: five minute scene in which he looks up a mare’s bottom and pulls a foal out from it. Tony Leung is a general with artistic sensitivity. Proof: he waves a feathered scepter and his whole army makes silence for a young boy’s tentative flute playing. Leung then walks over to the boy and delicately peels the flute’s holes with his dagger to improve the sound. In the following scene, he restores a stolen ox to the boy’s grandfather.

So far, my favorite moment of comic relief: the ruler of the Wu state cuts off a corner of a table. Murderously glaring at his old advisors, he yells: “I have decided to make war with Cao Cao, whoever mentions surrender will end up like this table!!”