Before you can say "Poh Ling Yeow and a bowl of Pho", I found myself at the marvellous Palace Cinemas at the Barracks in Paddington, openly drooling over the Red Cliff eye candy, much to the confusion of my viewing buddy (he "doesn't get it"). Whatevs.
Before I launch into my rave about how much I loved Red Cliff, this has to be prefaced by the fact that we here in the "West" have received an abridged version (2.5 hours approx) of what was about 4.5 hours of film - delivered as two films - throughout Asia. Certain parts have been condensed, however we are also given extended versions of conversations and background narrative (at the beginning) that weren't screened in Asian cinemas to ensure character development and historical placement wasn't lost on us gaijin. David Stratton felt that to do this was equivalent to pummeling the Lord of the Rings trilogy into one 2.5 hour film. A slight exaggeration. You are pretty much up to speed the whole way through the film, and I think the brevity is better suited to western audiences who aren't privy to the whole history of the story, and who statistically have a much shorter attention span than Asians (I made that up).
Director John Woo is best known for films such as Face/Off (appalling) and Mission Impossible II (meh). His return to Asian film-making was widely lauded in China, and certainly for good reason. The action scenes are brilliant: somewhat reminiscent of 300 at times - however in colour and not remotely tedious as they were in 300 ,which I loathed evidently - and to me it was the Chinese version of Gladiator. The battles - of which there are many - were visually and strategically impressive, and I guarantee you will gasp at the formations, choreographed so neatly it was almost like watching a dance performance. The red-cordial blood drenchings and tricky camera-work - occasional slow-mos followed by fast-forwards (a little like Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon which I adored) - remind us that this is an Asian film.
Asian culture is celebrated through art, the beautiful tea ceremonies, dance, music and the Yin and Yang approach to nature. The film is peppered with references to Sun Tzu's The Art of War, and is really a proud homage to this period of ancient Chinese history (and no wonder - the Chinese Government was a key investor in the $80 million film).
Set in 208AD in the dying days of the Han Dynasty, the film tracks the ambitious warlord and virtual leader (he makes the decisions for the "puppet" Emperor) of the North, Cao Cao, as he seeks to take control over the entirety of China. Faced with a sophisticated and successful war strategist, the two southern provinces become unlikely allies as they seek to dispel the take-over from the north (*cough* Hong Kong and Taiwan vs the PRC anyone?). Zhuge Liang (cutie Takeshi Kaneshiro), Liu Bei's brilliant war strategist, is sent to build the alliance with Sun Quan and his Vice Roy Zhou Yu using the power of his intellect. Zhou's beautiful wife, Qiao Xiao (an ex-super model in real life), is master of the tea ceremony, pacifist, and heart breaker of Cao Cao (the romantic rationale for Cao Cao's determination to take over the South of China).
Fought along the banks of the Yangtze River, the war strategy is loads of fun, and as always after one of these films you want to learn kung fu. Certain visual aspects of the film irritated me (compare the boats powering along the Yangtze to the scene in Troy when the boats are departing Greece and you'll see what I mean), however overall it is a visual feast with stunning scenery.
No war film these days is a film without the "there are no winners here" proclamation following the eventual conclusion of battle, however I didn't cringe and I felt it very apt (but then again, I'm a pacifist). The story is exquisite, and while some detail may be lacking, I don't believe it would be to the film's detriment in the view of most cinema-goers (I plan on getting some pirated copies of the long version at some point in any event). 4 stars.
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