I saw a couple of films over the weekend. The first was Ghost Dog, starring Forest Whitaker (of Good Morning, Vietnam fame, among other movies). It was pretty cool. Not flawless, but still pretty good. He stars as Ghost Dog, a contract assassin who lives by the way of the samurai. He is the retainer (as he repeatedly informs us) of a mobster who once saved his life. Things change, however, and the powers that be determine that Ghost Dog is a liability. And so it goes. I found this movie to be a stark contrast to Romeo Must Die, another movie combining hip-hop and an Eastern culture. Of course, the latter was Chinese rather than samurai Japanese, but there are commonalities. However, in this case, the movie is far better executed. Romeo was a silly affair. Ghost Dog, on the other hand, as a certain dignified solemnity. It is understated where Romeo was flashy; it has depth where the latter merely had an ambition for depth. I highly recommend it, but do not go expecting an action movie. There are violent incidents, but this movie is not about that. It is much like Leon (The Professional in the United States, which also comes highly recommended) ) in that way; a cerebral look at a lone man who lives by the gun.
The other film I watched was The Emperor and the Assassin. I suppose I was just trying to whet my appetite for Chinese dramatic films while I waited for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to come to Austin. This one is the story of the King of Qin (pronounced Chin, from which our name for China comes), Ying Zheng, whose ambition is to unite the seven kingdoms of 3rd century BC China. In an attempt to find a pretext to invade the kingdom of Yan, Ying Zheng and his concubine the Lady Zhao hit upon a plan. The Lady Zhao attempts to convince the Prince of Yan of a falling out between her and the King, and convinces him to send an assassin after the King. Only things don't work out quite the way they were planned. Like many Chinese films I have seen (including Hard Boiled, The Killer, and Twin Warriors [all US titles]), I noticed certain difficulties with continuity. There were abrupt segues from scene to scene that left many issues ambiguous. There was much that was unsaid or not explicitly communicated in the film that I found difficult to infer. Perhaps that is a function of the style of the director, Chinese film-making in general, or something about Chinese culture that they can read these hidden (to me) meanings. In spite of my difficulties, The Emperor and the Assassin was an excellent film. Gong Li (who has perhaps the most beautiful eyes ever) was excellent, as were.... those other people in the movie. The battle scenes, while not quite Braveheart, were nevertheless well-executed, with a scale and attention to detail that was impressive. The "cultural context," for lack of a better phrase, which I use to denote the battles, sets, costumes, and other period elements, was equally impressive. Simply for a depiction of ancient China this film would be fun to watch. The drama and plot make it a film worth seeing.