Ye Yan / The Banquet (Xiaogang Feng, 2006)

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SalParadise · #1 Post by **SalParadise** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 1:20 am

Saw this last night in China with English subtitles. (Is it just me or are subtitles getting better? font, clarity, etc)

This movie is quite something. I think most of you guys will appreciate it a lot. Beautiful film. I can't wait to go to Jiangsu where they made this movie and also Crouching Tiger.

Note: literal translation is 'Night Banquet'

Lino · #2 Post by **Lino** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:46 pm

Very much looking forward to this one. Meanwhile, Twitch has a review.

kieslowski_67 · #3 Post by **kieslowski_67** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 12:18 am

I will go on a business trip in China next month. Would like to catch this along with Yimou's "thuderstorm with martial arts".

The first wave of reviews out of China was horrible. Those who rated "the promise 40 points (out of 100)" gave "the banquet" anywhere from 45-50 point rating. It was also reported that some audience responded to the death of all main characters with laughter and boos. I just cannot believe that this would be much worse than "house of flying daggers".

SalParadise · #4 Post by **SalParadise** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 1:29 am

kieslowski_67 wrote:Would like to catch this along with Yimou's "thuderstorm with martial arts".

Not sure what you are talking about?

kieslowski_67 · #5 Post by **kieslowski_67** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:27 am

SalParadise wrote:
kieslowski_67 wrote:Would like to catch this along with Yimou's "thuderstorm with martial arts".
Not sure what you are talking about?

I was meant to say Yimou's "Curse of the Golden Flower". The movie was based on arguably the most famous play in modern China -"thunderstorm" by Cao Yu. Yimou moved the story to ancient China and added his current favorite thing - martial art sequences to 'spice'things up. As such, I called it "thumderstorm & martial arts".

Sorry for the confusion.

SalParadise · #6 Post by **SalParadise** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 2:12 am

Thanks.

Funny, because I don't like knowing anything other than the title, release date and crewmembers, so I certainly didn't watch the trailer and didn't know it was an action film! ha! And I actually passed by one of his filming locations the other day in Chongqing countryside (Fairy Mountain). Once I see the film I will go back and check it out :) 5 hour bus ride!

kieslowski_67 · #7 Post by **kieslowski_67** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 11:44 am

Watched this last night at home. Better than expected and I will give it a solid 7 or 7.5 out of 10. The story is a little bit far fetched, and Ziyi looks way too young for this kind of role (she is ok performance wise). And too make things worse, Zhou Xun is too old and makes it funny when she and Ziyi show up together.

I am pretty certain that Roger Ebert will give this a rave review. These days it seems that anything out of China that has a combination of lush settings, stunning visual, martial art sequences and ridiculous plot will crap his pants.

SalParadise · #8 Post by **SalParadise** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 4:30 pm

You watched it from a camcorder source?

kieslowski_67 · #9 Post by **kieslowski_67** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 12:58 am

SalParadise wrote:You watched it from a camcorder source?

Yes.

kieslowski_67 · #10 Post by **kieslowski_67** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 11:48 pm

SalParadise wrote:You watched it from a camcorder source?

It's out on DVD in China next Wed. I have pre-ordered and will get it here in the States in 2 weeks.

SalParadise · #11 Post by **SalParadise** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 1:48 am

From which website are you purchasing it?

kieslowski_67 · #12 Post by **kieslowski_67** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 5:26 am

SalParadise wrote:From which website are you purchasing it?

cnave.com

SalParadise · #13 Post by **SalParadise** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:56 am

just had a look -

does it have english subtitles?

Lino · #14 Post by **Lino** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 10:01 pm

Yesasia.com pre-order. Out next week!

Lino · #15 Post by **Lino** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 11:01 pm

I watched this one the other night with some friends and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If it hadn't been for such recent chinese epics like Hero, House of the Flying Daggers or Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, this one could have fared a lot higher in my appreciation as it somehow carries that sense of deja-vue with it.

However, I really appreciated the fact that a lot of the action scenes are downplayed (with soft music pouring into some beautiful slow motion sequences) and a lot of the acting was underplayed (the emotions are never overly dramatized and the actors' movements are highly stylized; it sometimes feels like you're watching a noh play).

The pace and rhythm of the movie is very elegant and relaxed and at times if feels like you've just walked into a dream of an ancient civilization. Oh, and the production design of this one is glorious to say the least! I was mesmerized at some of the scenery and costumes!

Nice one and I can see myself going back to it in the future which is always a good thing in my book.

Michael Kerpan · #16 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 2:16 pm

Lovely to look at -- but the very good actors have trouble bringing the rather poor script to life. A big disappointment -- given the good quality of Feng's prior films.

Lino · #17 Post by **Lino** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 2:32 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote:Lovely to look at -- but the very good actors have trouble bringing the rather poor script to life.

I personally think that the underplaying was intentional. And for me, it worked somehow. Like I said above, at times it seemed like I was watching a noh play -- very understated face expressions (mask-like, if you like which suits one of the main themes of the film), matching sometimes extremely stylized body movements and behaviourisms.

And the soundtrack is a killer!

Michael Kerpan · #18 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 3:03 pm

I have no problem with the performers -- rather I felt that the script was unconvincing -- and some of the dialog was just plain silly. Not even close to the level of "Flying Daggers" -- or Ann Hui's superlative "Romance of Book and Sword" (which is a lot more pleasing than ZY's epics).

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Ye Yan / The Banquet (Xiaogang Feng, 2006)

Ye Yan / The Banquet (Xiaogang Feng, 2006)