Blu-ray Review: CONFUCIUS

The Chinese have raised the propaganda film to a near art form over the last half decade. We've seen the various anniversary films celebrating the rebellion and the formation of the communist party, films like The Beginning of the Great Revival, and more recently the Jackie Chan film 1911 have commanded the Chinese box office in a way that doesn't always seem to be kosher. Hu Mei's Confucius is a film very much along those lines, seeking to inspire the Chinese people to remember and celebrate their heritage through dramatic reenactments of historical events. It remains unconvincing, not unlike the other films I mentioned, but the star power and pure talent of the lead actor is enough to make this one worth a watch.

Chow Yun Fat portrays the titular sage and does the film good as his performance is among its saving graces among overwrought drama and poor plotting. We see Confucius move up the political ladder from a local mayor all the way to a Minister of Law through increasing respect for his wisdom and intuitive strategic abilities. The strange thing is that in this film, the great sage Confucius seems to stumble into success more like Forrest Gump than a great leader. The plot is really dependent upon hitting certain historical notes and highlighting certain figures whether or not they have any real importance in real life, and all through the mire, Chow Yun Fat's performance keeps the viewer engaged, the true sign of a real star.

On the rare occasions that Confucius isn't headlining a scene, the film seems to wander off onto tangents that are completely unnecessary and serve only to check bullets points off a propaganda checklist. It seems as though the filmmakers were given a list of historical characters that were peripherally involved in the life of Confucius and required to shoehorn them in one way or another. The result is very similar to the result of 1911, and equally jarring and decidedly uncinematic. I can only imagine that the director was under some heavy pressure to make these concessions, otherwise I can't imagine anyone thinking this was good filmmaking.

With all of Confucius' faults, it does look quite excellent from a cinematographic standpoint. There are numerous shots of the wide open plains of ancient China, and the filmmakers have taken some effort to create a sense of scope. No doubt that the majority of these epic sequences are mostly CG creations, but is does help to provide some distraction from the thin plotting. For a film remembering a legendary wise man and sage, there is an awful lot of fighting and military strategy, though if we are to believe the film, Confucius was a strategic genius.

I understand China's desire to exalt their cultural icons, among whom Confucius looms large, I really do. Every country likes to see its heroes on screen, even we Americans. However, lately mainland China and the powers that be have created such a creativity vacuum that projects that should be epic and powerful end up feeling like elaborately staged history lessons, rather than narrative films. It isn't like great cinema hasn't come from China's desires, we have both the recent Assembly and The City of Life and Death to prove that it can be done well, but it seems like the party leaders aren't satisfied with those films, and we end up with stuff like this.

Confucius is a deeply flawed film, there's no denying that. However, if you are a Chow Yun Fat fan, this is a decent enough performance to justify the incredible price that Amazon has on this Blu-ray set ($10.49 as of the publishing of this review). I don't think this will be a film I'm going to revisit very often, but to each their own.

The Discs:

Regardless of the quality of the film itself, the Blu-ray from FUNimation looks fantastic. Colors and details are rich and clean, and the scope of the film is presented in a pristine way in high definition. Those strangely out of place battle sequences sound lovely and will give your speakers a workout once in a while, but when they aren't doing that they deliver dialogue and ambient sound effects in a clear and pleasing way.

The extras on the Blu-ray of Confucius consist of several brief making of documentaries. There are several for different sequences, and almost all of them feature interviews and additional context. Solid stuff that totals out to a little under an hour of bonus material.

Confucius is one I'd been waiting to see for a while because I'm a Chow Yun Fat junkie. Thankfully, he brings the goods even in a film that doesn't quite match up to his skill. Like I said before, if you're a fan, spend the $10, if not, rent it first and decide for yourself.