Film: The Warrior And The Wolf
Year of production: 2009
UK Release date: 30th May 2011
Distributor: Universal
Certificate: 18
Running time: 101 mins
Director: Zhuangzhuang Tian
Starring: Maggie Q, Jô Odagiri, Tou Chung-hua
Genre: Action/Drama/Fantasy
Format: DVD
Country of Production: China/Hong Kong/Japan/Singapore/USA
Language: Mandarin
Review by: Rob Markham
Glorious landscapes and grandiose battles come as standard with the Chinese epic. From Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon to Hero, we have been dazzled by their beauty. The Warrior And The Wolf is a much more cerebral take on the genre, mixing the scale of the epic, the battles and the politics with an element of the supernatural.
Set during a time of vicious battles between the Imperial Court and various nomadic tribes in the borderlands of China, The Warrior And The Wolf tells the story of Lu, a peaceful shepherd who joins General Zhang’s army.
Initially scared and unwilling to kill, Lu rises through the ranks to become one of the most fearsome warriors in the army, and when General Zhang is taken prisoner by one of the tribes, Lu negotiates his release by trading the son of the tribe’s prince for his General.
When the General is sent home injured, Lu takes command of the army and leads them on the journey home when the snow comes. The heavy snow makes the journey impossible and the army must take shelter in a village occupied by the Harran tribe. The Harran are supposedly cursed, and when a sexual relationship forms between Lu and a beautiful widow, the curse is revealed.
Years later, General Zhang returns to the borderlands to deliver the Imperial Edict detailing the tribe’s surrender. When two of his men shoot at two wolves and are found dead later that night, a hunt ensues…
Initial expectations and the opening captions of The Warrior And The Wolf would seem to suggest that we are entering the realm of the epic. However, if you are expecting this to be in line with Chinese epics such as House Of Flying Daggers and Hero then you will be disappointed. Instead of the grand opulence of these films, The Warrior And The Wolf is a much more thoughtful, emotive film, short on dialogue and relying on camerawork and acting talent to convey meaning and emotion. Where in other, similar films, there would be vast battles, bathed in colour, here the few battles there are seem small in scale compared to the vast landscape on which they are played out, and the palette is very subdued, heavily reliant on autumnal and winter green, brown and white, rather than a rich, theatrical colour-scheme. The star of the show here really is the Chinese landscape. Throughout the film, we are treated to some breathtaking shots of snow covered mountains and the borderlands in spring. There is a very strong contrast between the barren and the vibrant, clearly echoing the sense of isolation the soldiers in the outpost must feel.
The performances are also of a high standard. Jo Odagiri begins suitably innocent and, under the circumstances, does a good job of conveying what it is like to lose one’s humanity through violence, using little more than facial expression and body language. Though she is given little to do, Maggie Q makes the most of a largely thankless role, and Tou Chung-hua is pitch perfect as the battle-weary General.
It’s a shame, then, that with these considerable assets, the film does not offer us much else. It is clear that director Zhuangzhuag Tian is trying to convey a more thoughtful story through his use of internal struggle, which, while played superbly by the cast, never translates into anything truly meaningful over the course of the film. Despite Odagiri’s fine performance, the character of Lu does not fully convince in his journey from peaceful shepherd to warrior, as the transition is given little development in the first act. Flitting back and forth between the past and present, we see some evidence of Lu’s compassion (his bond with a wolf cub), his cowardice (running from a training session in which he must kill a prisoner) and then his transformation proper, with a bloodthirsty rant at prisoners of war later on, but the transition is unconvincing and sorely undersold and, as a result, his place as a respected warrior is never solidified in the mind of the audience.
This problem of underdevelopment is most notable in the relationships in the film, as it would seem character development was ignored in favour of sweeping shots of the landscape and some truly awful FX work. The bond between Lu and the wolf cub is not highlighted with any real significance, despite its importance to later events; the bond between Lu and General Zhang is never allowed to breathe, and their relationship appears devoid of any meaning; and the relationship between Lu and the Harran widow turns from rape into love seemingly overnight. There are important points to be made with each of these relationships; however, the film does not give them the time of day, preferring instead to plod along, confusing and frustrating in equal measure.
There are also issues in terms of storytelling. The use of captions to provide information rather than expositional dialogue can work in the cases of historical epics, but here, especially in one particular instance, they actually work to the film’s detriment. When the army reaches the Harran village, there has been no mention of cursed tribes, and the wolves we have seen up to that point have never provided any real threat or menace, but the caption appears on screen to tell us the rumour of a curse upon the tribe. Had this information been delivered earlier in the proceedings then perhaps it would have been cause to fear the army’s arrival. As it is, when they reach the village, we are given the information we need on the screen, so all sense of tension and any wonder of the supernatural is lost - it feels as though we’re starting all over again in a different film.
There are some very important themes to be found at the heart of this film. The idea that man is little more than a beast, and his actions lead only to de-evolution or death is a strong central premise, but it takes some effort to see this clearly through the landscape Zhuangzhuang has created. By the time the final confrontation occurs, it is obvious what is going to happen, but, by then, it’s difficult to care, as there has been no effort made to bond us with the action and the characters on screen resulting in what should have been a very personal and moving experience feeling superficial and strained.
Not awful by any means, but a difficult film to sit through. The ideas are there, but their execution is handled a little awkwardly. While it’s always nice to see the majestic Chinese landscape in all its glory, it would be nicer to have it populated by fully developed characters and an engaging story to match. RM
No comments:
Post a Comment