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Review: The Banquet (夜宴) (2006)
This movie was alright. It was more about vibes but I still found it enjoyable. The story was simple but not empty so the audience had space to think.
Spoilers.
Story
Wikipedia said that this movie was loosely based on Hamlet, but I have not read Hamlet in a long time and don’t quite remember what happened so I’ll consider this story as its own.
Prince Wu Luan was in love with Wan’er, but his father the Emperor married her instead, making her his Empress. Wu Luan fled to palace to join a theatre troupe. The Emperor’s younger brother murdered him and usurped the throne as the new Emperor, and also made Wan’er his Empress. Wu Luan returned to the Palace, technically to mourn his father.
The Emperor tried to kill Wu Luan once but was unsuccessful. Wu Luan put on a mime play to portray the assassination of his father by the current Emperor, which shook him immensely. The Emperor sent Wu Luan as a hostage son to the Khitans in an effort to be rid of him. On the way there, Wu Luan was meant to be assassinated by the guards but Yin Sun saved him. Yin Sun was a general in the palace. His younger sister Qingnv was engaged to Wu Luan.
The Emperor believed Wu Luan to be dead and decided to hold a banquet. At that time, Wan’er decided she’d assassinate. She forced Yin Sun and his father Governor Yin to help her. At the banquet, she revealed to the Emperor that she would kill him. Qingnv to the surprise of everyone put on a performance to commemorate Wu Luan. The Emperor gave her his cup of wine and this Qingnv drank the poison and died. Wu Luan was revealed to be one of the performers at the banquet and he unmasked and tearfully held Qingnv as she lay dying. Realizing the truth, the Emperor drank the rest of the poisoned wine to commit suicide. Yin Sun who was angered by his sister’s death, tried to kill Wan’er but was stopped by Wu Luan who held his blade. However, the blade was poisoned. Wan’er killed Yin Sun but Wu Luan was already dying from the poison. Governor Yin was exiled.
Wan’er was named Empress regnant due to the lack of any other suitable prospects. Near the beginning, Wan’er told Qingnv that there was a red cloth that was originally intended for Qingnv’s marriage with Wu Luan, but was now being used for the Empress’ coronation. It fell off a roll of cloth but Wan’er caught it easily. At the end of the movie, she struggled to catch it as it fell off the roll, but she said she loved it, and she was proud that she’d be the one to rise out of the mess like a phoenix (only to be assassinated shortly after). The identity of the assassin was purposely not shown but they surprised Wan’er.
What did this movie mean? I normally don’t like movies where the ending is just one where everyone dies. It’s normally a little too complete for me, because no one is left to face the consequences of their actions. In this movie, everyone did die but we had that short scene where Wan’er had become Emperor before her death. Can we blame everything on her ambition? Not necessarily. I don’t think anything but the final assassination was really in her control. Her wanting to protect Wu Luan was instinctive and I wouldn’t have found that a bad idea. But perhaps it was her misjudgment of Qingnv that caused her plan to not go the way it was supposed to go.
As I said, the story was simple, but there was enough space for the audience to think, which was the case for me.
Production
A great looking movie right from the beginning. I don’t think I’ve actually watched any movies by Feng Xiaogang, but I appreciated that he had an artistic eye. There were very many grand shots in this movie that I appreciated, as was appropriate for a movie taking place in a palace. I thought the acting was decent too. Everyone did their jobs well. The music was sparse but I liked that it made an impact where it was needed.
Characters
Wu Luan
Wu Luan had once left the palace to join a theatre troupe. The love of his life had married his father so there was nothing to be done but to drown his life elsewhere. He returned to the palace after his palace died. Wan’er called out to Wu Luan, but he called her mother. Actually, for the rest of the movie, I think he mostly called her mother, and I couldn’t really remember him calling her Wan’er. That showed that maybe he had already given up on having any romantic relationship with Wan’er. He definitely cared for her, but I think he respected the marriage between her and his father and he wouldn’t violate that.
When Wu Luan returned, his top priority was investigating his father’s death, which was supposedly by scorpion bite, when there were no scorpions in the palace. He was able to find a form of poison that was made from scorpions, giving rise to the possibility of his father being murdered. And then he received a cloth with a picture of a man being poisoned, signalling to Wu Luan that someone else also believed his father to be poisoned. Wu Luan’s suspicions were confirmed when he put on the play and the Emperor was stunned.
In the middle of this, Wu Luan had sex/kind of forced himself on Qingnv. Qingnv was mostly devoted to him and was his informant. She did love him even when her father told her not to be too close. And after they had sex, she was fully devoted to him.
The Emperor tried to deal with Wu Luan by sending him away as a hostage son but secretly ordering for him to be assassinated. He was saved by Yin Sun who reluctantly helped because Qingnv was being held hostage by Wan’er. Yin Sun in general was very unhappy with the arrangement, hated that his entire family was being threatened by his.
Wu Luan returned to the palace for the banquet and was very aggrieved by her dying state. He then turned his attention to the Emperor. The Emperor did have words about how a lot of hi work was carried out by the women who cared for him, Wan’er and Qingnv. But ultimately Wu Luan didn’t quite get his revenge as the Emperor committed suicide on his own. When Yin Sun tried to attack Wan’er, Wu Luan stopped him but was poisoned by his dagger and afterwards lay dying.
Now that I think about it, Wu Luan wasn’t as much of a hero as he probably wanted to be. Like the Emperor said, he was very much protected by the women around him. Wan’er would protect Wu Luan from the emperor, and Qingnv was a comfort to him. He did get around to outing his uncle, so I guess he did fulfill his duty. He did die afterwards, but I don’t think he was as concerned with that as the revenge. I do think his one regret was not being able to protect Qingnv. As I mentioned before, though he still cared a lot for Wan’er, I think he gave up on a romantic relationship with her. That was why he forced himself onto Qingnv, who was already devoted to him. He was ready to return the love but he was unable to protect her.
Was Wu Luan just a pawn for Wan’er? Maybe. I do think that Wan’er thought she loved him and I do believe that Wu Luan used to love her, still loved her though he would never let himself take on her as a wife or concubine due to the pseudo-incest taboo. But after his death, it seemed Wan’er was able to discard the memory of hm easily, or maybe it was her coping mechanism.
Emperor
The Emperor was mostly what I’d expect of an Emperor character. He killed his brother for the throne, very typical prince behaviour. However, I do think he liked Wan’er and wanted her to love him back, and wasn’t just holding onto her for power struggle reasons. He would try to please her and Wan’er struggled at first but later started to play along probably for the long con.
The Emperor wanted his nephew out of the picture. There was the guilt, but there was also the fact that his nephew had a legitimate claim to the throne. It’s interesting how Wu Luan would call him uncle instead of Emperor, signifying that he did not respect his claim to the throne. Actually, the movie made a lot of use of titles to get points across which I love. I am a name nerd after all.
The Emperor first tried to have Wu Luan assassinated in a swordplay performance. Then, he was outed by the stage play that Wu Luan put on, which signalled that Wu Luan was coming for him. The Emperor’s final attempt was to send Wu Luan away as a hostage son, even while knowing that the son sent by the Khitans was an imposter (so they had no reason to send the real thing back). But the Emperor sent Wu Luan and secretly ordered the guards to kill him. He was informed of Wu Luan’s assassination which was false, but the Emperor didn’t know of that. He thought everything was done with, and that now even Wan’er loved him back.
At the banquet, the Emperor was a little stunned when Wan’er told him that she’d take his life. But her plan was interrupted by Qingnv’s performance. I thought it was obvious that the wine was poisoned but maybe he was too distracted to realize. But the fact was obvious after Qingnv’s death. When Wu Luan revealed himself, the Emperor said that he knew this day would come and that was why he would drink the wine himself. I’m a little surprised that he gave in so easily, but maybe he was truly in love with Wan’er and that was why he agreed to her plan.
As I said, the Emperor was basically how I expected him to be. All emperors are paranoid, especially ones who know they’ve done wrong.
Empress Wan/Wan’er
Wan’er was in love with Wu Luan, but was married off to the late Emperor instead. When the late Emperor was killed, she became the Empress to the current Emperor. Her heart remained with Wu Luan though, and when he returned, she was ecstatic to see him, only to realize that he was not there as her lover. Nonetheless, she cared for him and she protected him, especially in front of the Emperor.
There was a bit of power play between Wan’er and Qingnv, who was engaged to Wu Luan. On the outside, Wan’er acted unbothered. But deep down she was jealous, and the jealousy grew as Qingnv’s devotion grew. When Qingnv begged to go with Wu Luan to the Khitans, Wan’er scoffed at her and had her punished. When Qingnv told her that she was jealous of Wu Luan and Qingnv, Wan’er had her punished, only for Governor Yin to step in and beg to do anything to keep his daughter safe. And that was how she forced the Yin family to do her bidding. She had Yin Sun save Wu Luan, but Governor Yin and Yin Sun new that they’d be forced to take her side when she tried to assassinate the Emperor.
Wan’er also turned up the affection with Emperor, pretending to return his affections on the 100th day of them being together. But it was all part of her plan to lure the Emperor into an unsuspecting state. At the banquet, Wan’er got a little excited and revealed her plan to the Emperor. But it failed and her plan was revealed. She still got what she wanted, but at the cost of Qingnv’s life, which angered Yin Sun who tried to kill her but killed Wu Luan instead.
Wan’er was saddened by Wu Luan’s death, but it seemed like she got over it easily, no? My guess was that due to the fact that she had nothing and no one left, she had no choice but to embrace the fact that power was all she had. She liked the red cloth for it was the red of desire. What was desire? Before, it was Wu Luan. Now that Wu Luan was gone, it was ambition. She was proud of herself for staying resilient and rising above it all, being the last one standing.
Only to be suddenly killed. Who was she killed by? I couldn’t guess because most people in the story were dead, except Governor Yin. But Wan’er showed some recognition of who she was killed by, and I think I was meant to believe her death was righteous, that she was just having justice delivered to her. So I am inclined to believe that Governor Yin had her assassinated as revenge for killing both his children.
If she dies, where does that leave the kingdom? Well in the insulated story there’s no one left and the kingdom will return to chaos. In realistic circumstances, I don’t think she would ever have become Emperor, and the court officials would have sought a distant male relative. Wan’er was using the pronoun ‘zhen’ showing that she had taken the role of Emperor, and not just Empress regnant. That also makes me think, as the Emperor said, Wu Luan was being protected by the women in his life. Maybe Wan’er was fed up with the men in her life and decided she’d just be the Emperor and take control of her life.
I’m still piecing together the substance of Wan’er’s character, but she was interesting.
Qingnv
Qingnv was a noble lady who served Wan’er. She was also betrothed to Wu Luan. She felt awkward about it around Wan’er, probably knowing their past history, but Qingnv did like Wu Luan. She said that she spoke to him in her dreams. When Wu Luan returned, Qingnv was his informant telling him everything she’d heard in the palace without question.
Her father advised her not to become too devoted to Wu Luan, knowing his uneasy relationship with the Emperor. Qingnv was troubled because she’d already let herself fall in love with Wu Luan. But her father told her she should be like the Empress and be able to change her heart according to the situation. She also later consummated her relationship with Wu Luan, which intensified her devotion. She was ride or die for him now.
Qingnv obviously didn’t listen. When Wu Luan was sent to the Khitans, she begged to go but was told off and punished by Wan’er with 30 lashes. When Wan’er came to punish her, Qingnv said that Wan’er was jealous of her relationship with Wu Luan. That boldness probably came from them having had sex. Wan’er wanted to punish Qingnv again, and banked on Qingnv’s family not letting that happen.
At the banquet, Qingnv showed up and put on an unscheduled performance. It broke up the pace of the celebration and the Emperor had a chance to give the wine to Qingnv instead of drinking it himself. Wan’er was miffed but Governor Yin and Yin Sun were very shocked but the also knew they could not do anything lest they foil the Empress’ plan. If it failed, they’d all die whereas if the Empress succeeded, then maybe father and son could still live. But Qingnv died, not knowing what happened, she died with love that she had for a man she thought was dead. Yes, as the Emperor said, maybe she was pure of heart. All her confidence came from her love for Wu Luan.
Governor Yin
Governor Yin was nervous about the state of things, he knew that the Emperor’s place was not certain but he also knew that the crown prince’s wasn’t either. But above all else he cared for his kids, and that was why he begged Qingnv to keep her distance from Wu Luan. He had no choice but to go along with Wan’er’s plan in order to protect Qingnv. And he was powerless to stop Qingnv from drinking the poisoned wine lest he also have his son killed by the Emperor. But in the end, he outlived both his children and was exiled, probably for what he knew of Wan’er’s plan. I theorize that he was responsible for the final assassination of Wan’er (either hiring an assassin or killing her himself), but I’m also not completely sure.
Yin Sun
Yin Sun like his father was careful about who he pledged loyalty to. He was worried about protecting his family, especially his sister. And that was why he so reluctant to help Wu Luan but he did it anyway. He hated that Wu Luan and his family could toy with his own that easily. His sister was deeply in love with Wu Luan and Wan’er was holding her hostage to control the Yin family.
Like his father, Yin Sun was powerless to stop Qingnv from drinking the wine that was given to her by the Emperor. Drink it, and she dies. Stop it, the Emperor is offended, and he punishes Qingnv and she dies. Later, Yin Sun tried to kill Wan’er for what she’d done to Qingnv but was stopped by Wu Luan and Wan’er got a chance to kill him.
Like Qingnv, Yin Sun was also just someone who loved. For him, it was love for his sister as he promised that he would protect her and he wasn’t able to.
Themes
Revenge
Revenge was a big one, and it was especially important for family. However the relationship was between Wu Luan and his father, seeking revenge on his behalf took precedent over everything. When nothing can be done, revenge is all that’s left. We saw that with Yin Sun too. Since Qingnv was dead, all he could do was try to kill Wan’er to avenge her.
Family
Slightly related to the last point on revenge but at the same time, family’s also a little loose here particularly with the royal family. The late emperor took on the lover of his son. Wan’er and Wu Luan were said to have studied the blade together, and she was four years younger than him so there was at least the generational taboo between them. The current emperor took on his late brother’s empress, his sister-in-law. Wu Luan refused to cross that boundary, continuing to see Wan’er as his stepmother.
We know from history that there have been women who were concubines to both a father and son such as Wu Zetian. So it was less of a taboo for them for the sake of power. Would Wu Luan have been stronger if he’d accepted Wan’er as his lover instead of turning to Qingnv? If that was the case, maybe Qingnv wouldn’t have been so devoted, wouldn’t have interrupted the banquet. But who’s to say.
Ambition
The mandate of heaven is given to those who receive it. Circular argument, self-fulfilling prophecy, etc. You could say only the Emperor and Wan’er had ambition. Wu Luan didn’t have ambition. If he did, he wouldn’t have run away to the theatre troupe. He would have stayed and established power.
The Emperor was ambitious to the point of killing his own brother for the throne. The Empress was ambitious, not necessarily for the throne, but for her idea of a better life. She lived her life being controlled by others, not having a say in who she wanted to marry (twice). Maybe for once she just wanted to be able to choose. She projected that happy life onto Wu Luan, and at the end, she decided she’d just be Emperor herself. Then she could make all the decisions.
Titles
As mentioned, titles were very important in showing the characters’ relationships. At the beginning of their ‘marriage,’ Wan’er still called the Emperor ‘uncle’ (common for a sister-in-law to call her husband’s younger brother). To respect her wishes, the Emperor would in turn call her ‘sister-in-law.’ That was one of the ways Wan’er could maintain her distance.
When Wu Luan returned to the palace, he called the Emperor ‘uncle’ in stead of ‘your majesty,’ showing he didn’t respect his claim to the throne. He also called Wan’er ‘mother’ (the version of it called by a prince to the empress), showing that he wasn’t ready to just continue where they left off, as if her marriage to his father meant nothing.
Women
Maybe Wan’er and Qingnv are two ends of the spectrum. Qingnv was the sentimental one who let her heart rule her mind and she paid for it. Wan’er went with the flow, letting herself be married off to the late Emperor and then the current Emperor. She got to the top that way, becoming Emperor herself. But she also paid for it. No happy endings for women in the historical times, eh?
Overall
A movie that surprisingly kept me engaged. And it looked great so I can’t complain on that front.
Spoilers.
Story
Wikipedia said that this movie was loosely based on Hamlet, but I have not read Hamlet in a long time and don’t quite remember what happened so I’ll consider this story as its own.
Prince Wu Luan was in love with Wan’er, but his father the Emperor married her instead, making her his Empress. Wu Luan fled to palace to join a theatre troupe. The Emperor’s younger brother murdered him and usurped the throne as the new Emperor, and also made Wan’er his Empress. Wu Luan returned to the Palace, technically to mourn his father.
The Emperor tried to kill Wu Luan once but was unsuccessful. Wu Luan put on a mime play to portray the assassination of his father by the current Emperor, which shook him immensely. The Emperor sent Wu Luan as a hostage son to the Khitans in an effort to be rid of him. On the way there, Wu Luan was meant to be assassinated by the guards but Yin Sun saved him. Yin Sun was a general in the palace. His younger sister Qingnv was engaged to Wu Luan.
The Emperor believed Wu Luan to be dead and decided to hold a banquet. At that time, Wan’er decided she’d assassinate. She forced Yin Sun and his father Governor Yin to help her. At the banquet, she revealed to the Emperor that she would kill him. Qingnv to the surprise of everyone put on a performance to commemorate Wu Luan. The Emperor gave her his cup of wine and this Qingnv drank the poison and died. Wu Luan was revealed to be one of the performers at the banquet and he unmasked and tearfully held Qingnv as she lay dying. Realizing the truth, the Emperor drank the rest of the poisoned wine to commit suicide. Yin Sun who was angered by his sister’s death, tried to kill Wan’er but was stopped by Wu Luan who held his blade. However, the blade was poisoned. Wan’er killed Yin Sun but Wu Luan was already dying from the poison. Governor Yin was exiled.
Wan’er was named Empress regnant due to the lack of any other suitable prospects. Near the beginning, Wan’er told Qingnv that there was a red cloth that was originally intended for Qingnv’s marriage with Wu Luan, but was now being used for the Empress’ coronation. It fell off a roll of cloth but Wan’er caught it easily. At the end of the movie, she struggled to catch it as it fell off the roll, but she said she loved it, and she was proud that she’d be the one to rise out of the mess like a phoenix (only to be assassinated shortly after). The identity of the assassin was purposely not shown but they surprised Wan’er.
What did this movie mean? I normally don’t like movies where the ending is just one where everyone dies. It’s normally a little too complete for me, because no one is left to face the consequences of their actions. In this movie, everyone did die but we had that short scene where Wan’er had become Emperor before her death. Can we blame everything on her ambition? Not necessarily. I don’t think anything but the final assassination was really in her control. Her wanting to protect Wu Luan was instinctive and I wouldn’t have found that a bad idea. But perhaps it was her misjudgment of Qingnv that caused her plan to not go the way it was supposed to go.
As I said, the story was simple, but there was enough space for the audience to think, which was the case for me.
Production
A great looking movie right from the beginning. I don’t think I’ve actually watched any movies by Feng Xiaogang, but I appreciated that he had an artistic eye. There were very many grand shots in this movie that I appreciated, as was appropriate for a movie taking place in a palace. I thought the acting was decent too. Everyone did their jobs well. The music was sparse but I liked that it made an impact where it was needed.
Characters
Wu Luan
Wu Luan had once left the palace to join a theatre troupe. The love of his life had married his father so there was nothing to be done but to drown his life elsewhere. He returned to the palace after his palace died. Wan’er called out to Wu Luan, but he called her mother. Actually, for the rest of the movie, I think he mostly called her mother, and I couldn’t really remember him calling her Wan’er. That showed that maybe he had already given up on having any romantic relationship with Wan’er. He definitely cared for her, but I think he respected the marriage between her and his father and he wouldn’t violate that.
When Wu Luan returned, his top priority was investigating his father’s death, which was supposedly by scorpion bite, when there were no scorpions in the palace. He was able to find a form of poison that was made from scorpions, giving rise to the possibility of his father being murdered. And then he received a cloth with a picture of a man being poisoned, signalling to Wu Luan that someone else also believed his father to be poisoned. Wu Luan’s suspicions were confirmed when he put on the play and the Emperor was stunned.
In the middle of this, Wu Luan had sex/kind of forced himself on Qingnv. Qingnv was mostly devoted to him and was his informant. She did love him even when her father told her not to be too close. And after they had sex, she was fully devoted to him.
The Emperor tried to deal with Wu Luan by sending him away as a hostage son but secretly ordering for him to be assassinated. He was saved by Yin Sun who reluctantly helped because Qingnv was being held hostage by Wan’er. Yin Sun in general was very unhappy with the arrangement, hated that his entire family was being threatened by his.
Wu Luan returned to the palace for the banquet and was very aggrieved by her dying state. He then turned his attention to the Emperor. The Emperor did have words about how a lot of hi work was carried out by the women who cared for him, Wan’er and Qingnv. But ultimately Wu Luan didn’t quite get his revenge as the Emperor committed suicide on his own. When Yin Sun tried to attack Wan’er, Wu Luan stopped him but was poisoned by his dagger and afterwards lay dying.
Now that I think about it, Wu Luan wasn’t as much of a hero as he probably wanted to be. Like the Emperor said, he was very much protected by the women around him. Wan’er would protect Wu Luan from the emperor, and Qingnv was a comfort to him. He did get around to outing his uncle, so I guess he did fulfill his duty. He did die afterwards, but I don’t think he was as concerned with that as the revenge. I do think his one regret was not being able to protect Qingnv. As I mentioned before, though he still cared a lot for Wan’er, I think he gave up on a romantic relationship with her. That was why he forced himself onto Qingnv, who was already devoted to him. He was ready to return the love but he was unable to protect her.
Was Wu Luan just a pawn for Wan’er? Maybe. I do think that Wan’er thought she loved him and I do believe that Wu Luan used to love her, still loved her though he would never let himself take on her as a wife or concubine due to the pseudo-incest taboo. But after his death, it seemed Wan’er was able to discard the memory of hm easily, or maybe it was her coping mechanism.
Emperor
The Emperor was mostly what I’d expect of an Emperor character. He killed his brother for the throne, very typical prince behaviour. However, I do think he liked Wan’er and wanted her to love him back, and wasn’t just holding onto her for power struggle reasons. He would try to please her and Wan’er struggled at first but later started to play along probably for the long con.
The Emperor wanted his nephew out of the picture. There was the guilt, but there was also the fact that his nephew had a legitimate claim to the throne. It’s interesting how Wu Luan would call him uncle instead of Emperor, signifying that he did not respect his claim to the throne. Actually, the movie made a lot of use of titles to get points across which I love. I am a name nerd after all.
The Emperor first tried to have Wu Luan assassinated in a swordplay performance. Then, he was outed by the stage play that Wu Luan put on, which signalled that Wu Luan was coming for him. The Emperor’s final attempt was to send Wu Luan away as a hostage son, even while knowing that the son sent by the Khitans was an imposter (so they had no reason to send the real thing back). But the Emperor sent Wu Luan and secretly ordered the guards to kill him. He was informed of Wu Luan’s assassination which was false, but the Emperor didn’t know of that. He thought everything was done with, and that now even Wan’er loved him back.
At the banquet, the Emperor was a little stunned when Wan’er told him that she’d take his life. But her plan was interrupted by Qingnv’s performance. I thought it was obvious that the wine was poisoned but maybe he was too distracted to realize. But the fact was obvious after Qingnv’s death. When Wu Luan revealed himself, the Emperor said that he knew this day would come and that was why he would drink the wine himself. I’m a little surprised that he gave in so easily, but maybe he was truly in love with Wan’er and that was why he agreed to her plan.
As I said, the Emperor was basically how I expected him to be. All emperors are paranoid, especially ones who know they’ve done wrong.
Empress Wan/Wan’er
Wan’er was in love with Wu Luan, but was married off to the late Emperor instead. When the late Emperor was killed, she became the Empress to the current Emperor. Her heart remained with Wu Luan though, and when he returned, she was ecstatic to see him, only to realize that he was not there as her lover. Nonetheless, she cared for him and she protected him, especially in front of the Emperor.
There was a bit of power play between Wan’er and Qingnv, who was engaged to Wu Luan. On the outside, Wan’er acted unbothered. But deep down she was jealous, and the jealousy grew as Qingnv’s devotion grew. When Qingnv begged to go with Wu Luan to the Khitans, Wan’er scoffed at her and had her punished. When Qingnv told her that she was jealous of Wu Luan and Qingnv, Wan’er had her punished, only for Governor Yin to step in and beg to do anything to keep his daughter safe. And that was how she forced the Yin family to do her bidding. She had Yin Sun save Wu Luan, but Governor Yin and Yin Sun new that they’d be forced to take her side when she tried to assassinate the Emperor.
Wan’er also turned up the affection with Emperor, pretending to return his affections on the 100th day of them being together. But it was all part of her plan to lure the Emperor into an unsuspecting state. At the banquet, Wan’er got a little excited and revealed her plan to the Emperor. But it failed and her plan was revealed. She still got what she wanted, but at the cost of Qingnv’s life, which angered Yin Sun who tried to kill her but killed Wu Luan instead.
Wan’er was saddened by Wu Luan’s death, but it seemed like she got over it easily, no? My guess was that due to the fact that she had nothing and no one left, she had no choice but to embrace the fact that power was all she had. She liked the red cloth for it was the red of desire. What was desire? Before, it was Wu Luan. Now that Wu Luan was gone, it was ambition. She was proud of herself for staying resilient and rising above it all, being the last one standing.
Only to be suddenly killed. Who was she killed by? I couldn’t guess because most people in the story were dead, except Governor Yin. But Wan’er showed some recognition of who she was killed by, and I think I was meant to believe her death was righteous, that she was just having justice delivered to her. So I am inclined to believe that Governor Yin had her assassinated as revenge for killing both his children.
If she dies, where does that leave the kingdom? Well in the insulated story there’s no one left and the kingdom will return to chaos. In realistic circumstances, I don’t think she would ever have become Emperor, and the court officials would have sought a distant male relative. Wan’er was using the pronoun ‘zhen’ showing that she had taken the role of Emperor, and not just Empress regnant. That also makes me think, as the Emperor said, Wu Luan was being protected by the women in his life. Maybe Wan’er was fed up with the men in her life and decided she’d just be the Emperor and take control of her life.
I’m still piecing together the substance of Wan’er’s character, but she was interesting.
Qingnv
Qingnv was a noble lady who served Wan’er. She was also betrothed to Wu Luan. She felt awkward about it around Wan’er, probably knowing their past history, but Qingnv did like Wu Luan. She said that she spoke to him in her dreams. When Wu Luan returned, Qingnv was his informant telling him everything she’d heard in the palace without question.
Her father advised her not to become too devoted to Wu Luan, knowing his uneasy relationship with the Emperor. Qingnv was troubled because she’d already let herself fall in love with Wu Luan. But her father told her she should be like the Empress and be able to change her heart according to the situation. She also later consummated her relationship with Wu Luan, which intensified her devotion. She was ride or die for him now.
Qingnv obviously didn’t listen. When Wu Luan was sent to the Khitans, she begged to go but was told off and punished by Wan’er with 30 lashes. When Wan’er came to punish her, Qingnv said that Wan’er was jealous of her relationship with Wu Luan. That boldness probably came from them having had sex. Wan’er wanted to punish Qingnv again, and banked on Qingnv’s family not letting that happen.
At the banquet, Qingnv showed up and put on an unscheduled performance. It broke up the pace of the celebration and the Emperor had a chance to give the wine to Qingnv instead of drinking it himself. Wan’er was miffed but Governor Yin and Yin Sun were very shocked but the also knew they could not do anything lest they foil the Empress’ plan. If it failed, they’d all die whereas if the Empress succeeded, then maybe father and son could still live. But Qingnv died, not knowing what happened, she died with love that she had for a man she thought was dead. Yes, as the Emperor said, maybe she was pure of heart. All her confidence came from her love for Wu Luan.
Governor Yin
Governor Yin was nervous about the state of things, he knew that the Emperor’s place was not certain but he also knew that the crown prince’s wasn’t either. But above all else he cared for his kids, and that was why he begged Qingnv to keep her distance from Wu Luan. He had no choice but to go along with Wan’er’s plan in order to protect Qingnv. And he was powerless to stop Qingnv from drinking the poisoned wine lest he also have his son killed by the Emperor. But in the end, he outlived both his children and was exiled, probably for what he knew of Wan’er’s plan. I theorize that he was responsible for the final assassination of Wan’er (either hiring an assassin or killing her himself), but I’m also not completely sure.
Yin Sun
Yin Sun like his father was careful about who he pledged loyalty to. He was worried about protecting his family, especially his sister. And that was why he so reluctant to help Wu Luan but he did it anyway. He hated that Wu Luan and his family could toy with his own that easily. His sister was deeply in love with Wu Luan and Wan’er was holding her hostage to control the Yin family.
Like his father, Yin Sun was powerless to stop Qingnv from drinking the wine that was given to her by the Emperor. Drink it, and she dies. Stop it, the Emperor is offended, and he punishes Qingnv and she dies. Later, Yin Sun tried to kill Wan’er for what she’d done to Qingnv but was stopped by Wu Luan and Wan’er got a chance to kill him.
Like Qingnv, Yin Sun was also just someone who loved. For him, it was love for his sister as he promised that he would protect her and he wasn’t able to.
Themes
Revenge
Revenge was a big one, and it was especially important for family. However the relationship was between Wu Luan and his father, seeking revenge on his behalf took precedent over everything. When nothing can be done, revenge is all that’s left. We saw that with Yin Sun too. Since Qingnv was dead, all he could do was try to kill Wan’er to avenge her.
Family
Slightly related to the last point on revenge but at the same time, family’s also a little loose here particularly with the royal family. The late emperor took on the lover of his son. Wan’er and Wu Luan were said to have studied the blade together, and she was four years younger than him so there was at least the generational taboo between them. The current emperor took on his late brother’s empress, his sister-in-law. Wu Luan refused to cross that boundary, continuing to see Wan’er as his stepmother.
We know from history that there have been women who were concubines to both a father and son such as Wu Zetian. So it was less of a taboo for them for the sake of power. Would Wu Luan have been stronger if he’d accepted Wan’er as his lover instead of turning to Qingnv? If that was the case, maybe Qingnv wouldn’t have been so devoted, wouldn’t have interrupted the banquet. But who’s to say.
Ambition
The mandate of heaven is given to those who receive it. Circular argument, self-fulfilling prophecy, etc. You could say only the Emperor and Wan’er had ambition. Wu Luan didn’t have ambition. If he did, he wouldn’t have run away to the theatre troupe. He would have stayed and established power.
The Emperor was ambitious to the point of killing his own brother for the throne. The Empress was ambitious, not necessarily for the throne, but for her idea of a better life. She lived her life being controlled by others, not having a say in who she wanted to marry (twice). Maybe for once she just wanted to be able to choose. She projected that happy life onto Wu Luan, and at the end, she decided she’d just be Emperor herself. Then she could make all the decisions.
Titles
As mentioned, titles were very important in showing the characters’ relationships. At the beginning of their ‘marriage,’ Wan’er still called the Emperor ‘uncle’ (common for a sister-in-law to call her husband’s younger brother). To respect her wishes, the Emperor would in turn call her ‘sister-in-law.’ That was one of the ways Wan’er could maintain her distance.
When Wu Luan returned to the palace, he called the Emperor ‘uncle’ in stead of ‘your majesty,’ showing he didn’t respect his claim to the throne. He also called Wan’er ‘mother’ (the version of it called by a prince to the empress), showing that he wasn’t ready to just continue where they left off, as if her marriage to his father meant nothing.
Women
Maybe Wan’er and Qingnv are two ends of the spectrum. Qingnv was the sentimental one who let her heart rule her mind and she paid for it. Wan’er went with the flow, letting herself be married off to the late Emperor and then the current Emperor. She got to the top that way, becoming Emperor herself. But she also paid for it. No happy endings for women in the historical times, eh?
Overall
A movie that surprisingly kept me engaged. And it looked great so I can’t complain on that front.