Yang Gui Fei, or Consort Yang was one of the most famous beauties of Ancient China, and her story is just as compelling. The emperor's obsession with her allowed her grasping family, led by her cousin, Yang Guozhong, to secure lucrative posts at court. They conspired with various factions to obtain wealth and power while the Emperor ignored his duties and turned trusted advisers away. The subsequent rebellion was actually led by another one of Yang's former favorites barbarian General An Lu Shan. Under Yang's influence, General An ingratiated himself within court, while biding his time and raising his own forces. The power struggle between these pivotal figures, Yang Guozhong and An Lu Shan, the internecine competition between the emperor's sons, and an aging, enamored emperor eventually cumulated in the murder of Yang Gui Fei and the abdication of the Emperor.
This film however, contains very little of that. It reduces the legend of Yang Gui Fei to a hollow romance. Notably missing from the film are characters depicting Yang Guozhong and An Lu Shan, as well as Li Linfu, the Emperor's capable and Machiavellian chancellor. The only incident worth noting (and indeed, consumes the first half of the film), is the storyline involving Consort Wu and the princes. Consort Yang herself is naive and innocent to the point of childishness, and their "romance" is better characterized as the lust of an older man for his son's innocent young wife and her subsequent capitulation. Yang's inexplicable fondness for Li Mao after she becomes a Consort, and her petty jealousness towards Consort Mei confused me at best.
The end of the movie feels extremely rushed glossing through the historical and political context of the rebellion in the final 20 minutes.
Finally, the use of a western narrator (a Byzantine envoy with a British accent) and various Christian overtones was odd and rather distracting. I think it says a lot about the poor storytelling in the film that such a device was required to explain the plot to audiences.
Although I am a huge fan of Fan BingBing (since her Princess Returning Pearl days!) and Jing Ning (the actress who plays Consort Mei), and I love Chinese historical fiction, I was sorely disappointed (and bored) with this movie.
This film however, contains very little of that. It reduces the legend of Yang Gui Fei to a hollow romance. Notably missing from the film are characters depicting Yang Guozhong and An Lu Shan, as well as Li Linfu, the Emperor's capable and Machiavellian chancellor. The only incident worth noting (and indeed, consumes the first half of the film), is the storyline involving Consort Wu and the princes. Consort Yang herself is naive and innocent to the point of childishness, and their "romance" is better characterized as the lust of an older man for his son's innocent young wife and her subsequent capitulation. Yang's inexplicable fondness for Li Mao after she becomes a Consort, and her petty jealousness towards Consort Mei confused me at best.
The end of the movie feels extremely rushed glossing through the historical and political context of the rebellion in the final 20 minutes.
Finally, the use of a western narrator (a Byzantine envoy with a British accent) and various Christian overtones was odd and rather distracting. I think it says a lot about the poor storytelling in the film that such a device was required to explain the plot to audiences.
Although I am a huge fan of Fan BingBing (since her Princess Returning Pearl days!) and Jing Ning (the actress who plays Consort Mei), and I love Chinese historical fiction, I was sorely disappointed (and bored) with this movie.