The new, courageous film by Lu Chuan tells a story of epic proportions with shades of Shakespeare, set during a famous episode of Chinese imperial history, known as the “Banquet at Hong Gate”. The tale unfolds around the nightmares of the founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, who, on his deathbed, is obsessed by memories of his ascent to power and an acute awareness of the evil that his thirst for power led him to commit…
During the revolts that led to the fall of the Qin dynasty, young Liu stands out for his charisma and courage; despite his humble farming background, these qualities earn him the respect and help of Yu, an aristocratic warrior of a noble spirit, commander of the most fearsome army of the rebel forces. Yu entrusts the command of a battalion of 5,000 soldiers to Liu who, ignoring the pact made with his protector, invades the capital of the empire and eliminates the last young emperor of the Qin dynasty. From that moment forth, the respect and solidarity between the brave warriors is transformed into a battle to the death for power. Liu is invited to a sumptuous banquet to celebrate victory and peace, during which the advisors of Yu – who has in the meantime become emperor – aim to punish his subordination with death; but the generous-spirited Yu decides to save his life. The battle for power does not, however, end there: Xin – one of Yu’s main advisors – betrays the emperor and allies himself with Liu; the latter, with Xin’s help, manages to defeat Yu, who commits suicide on the battlefield rather than give himself up to his rival. Liu could, at this point, reign undisturbed, but Xin’s presence becomes a threat in the mind of the emperor, who is by now power-hungry and with a persecution complex. Liu has Xin imprisoned, then decides to free him. However, he continues to be obsessed by the fear that Xin could turn against him, just as he himself did against Yu…
After inviting Xin to another sumptuous banquet, Liu has him beheaded. Lu Zhi, Liu’s consort, presents Xin’s head to the emperor as a kind of trophy of absolute power. But the sense of guilt for his betrayals persecute Liu, and his dream of reigning undisturbed is fleeting…
Lu Chuan studied the historical period that the film is set in extensively, carrying out exhaustive research on architecture, costumes and period weapons. But apart from the representation of the facts, the political implications of the narrative are clear, and the ultimate aim of the film – the reason for which long months of negotiations with the censors were needed to obtain permission to distribute the film – seems to be to underline how history has a terrible habit of repeating itself. In the words of the director “despite the stories of these characters being buried for 2,000 years, their roles have constantly been repeated on the political scene in China, with Liu being held up as an example by many Chinese politicians. This is what drove me to make this film.”
Maria Barbieri