‘Confucius’ with Chow Yun-Fat is beautiful, but unfulfilling

Despite a stellar performance from Chow Yun-Fat, Confucius  is somewhat confusing entertainment. It presents a sanitized version of the great philosopher’s teachings and life lessons, all set to the backdrop of warring Chinese factions and lush scenery. The film excels tremendously with the exquisite work from Director of Photography Peter Pau; his ability to capture these beautiful images — whether storming armies or genteel gardens — is the true highlight of the 125-minute feature. Yun-Fat also turns in a powerfully resonant performance that makes the title character believable and sincere, rather than an historical caricature.

But director Hu Mei is unable to bring everything together into a cohesive, effective narrative. At times, the progression of the story feels rushed, while other times it lingers for too long. This constant unbalanced feeling hurts the overall film and its ambitions to tell such an epic tale. We’ll spend a good 20 minutes on one particular sequence, and then through an annoying montage we travel years with no purpose or direction. The only way to tell when time has passed is by the color of Confucius’ beard.

The time depicted in the movie is a crucial period in Chinese history. The so-called Spring and Autumn period was an often brutal series of rivalries and bloody wars, and Confucius tried to keep his men and his wisdom from getting lost in the fray. The details of the different clans in the kingdom can become tedious after a while. Mei uses helpful, but obtrusive, subtitles to let the audience know the year and location of each scene. He even identifies most of the main characters and their relationship to Confucius. The constant updating of information at the bottom of the screen makes for a wooden piece of drama. Confucius feels almost like an educational tool, rather than a true, believable epic. Mei and his writers, including Khan Chan, Jiang Qitao and He Yanjiang, falter in trying to personalize the story. We do see Confucius in smaller scenes, trying to pass on his nuggets of wisdom to his many disciples, but his sayings and slogans, culled from his original teachings, all seem like throwaway lines, like connective tissue between larger battle sequences.

As a thinking man’s film, Confucius fails. As an action epic, it does much better. The scenes of bloodshed are expertly choreographed, no doubt using CGI to recreate the enormity of the warring masses. The images from the battlefield are some of the most memorable from the movie. Mei is able to capture many interesting perspectives, giving us both an on-the-ground look and bird’s eye view.

Enough cannot be said of Yun-Fat’s performance. Without him, the movie would be even less effective. He holds together the character from beginning to end, and the makeup work to show his aging is quite impressive. It’s only through this central performance that we’re able to witness Confucius wearing his many hats: philosopher, educator, author, military leader, strategist and, at times, pacifist. If a more effective movie could have been created around this powerhouse performance, Confucius would have a lot more to say than merely sword fights and bitter rivalries.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Confucius

• In Mandarin with English subtitles

• 2011

• Directed by Hu Mei

• Written by Mei, Khan Chan, Jiang Qitao and He Yanjiang

• Staring Chow Yun-Fat

• Running time: 125 minutes

• Rating: