The driving theme of this film is Dr Sun's importance to China. He is the guy who is credited with liberating the Chinese from the tyranny of the Empress Dowager Cixi. She is the shadowy figure we see at the beginning of this film (and at the end of another great Chinese film, Warlords). Dr Sun's idea was to make China a free, prosperous, and powerful nation. Well, I guess two out of three ain't bad. Nevertheless, he is considered the "Father of The Nation", and you will see his portrait proudly displayed today at China's big political meetings.
Bodyguards and Assassins was a fun, deeply moving, and brilliantly acted piece of propaganda. I enjoyed it without English subtitles. I wonder if I would have enjoyed it less or more if I knew what the characters were saying? I was fortunate enough to watch this film with my Chinese friend who reads widely on this subject. He survived the horrors of the Chinese Cultural Revolution and left for Australia shortly after the Tiananmen Square massacre. His healthy cynicism for his home country was on full display as we watched Bodyguards. Every time a character died for Sun, a caption popped up stating the date of birth and death of said character. My Chinese friend would grin. "These are not even real people", he would say. Indeed, the whole story is just another wonderful example of "alternative history" - a genre played with a deft hand by dictatorships everywhere. Bodyguards lovingly polishes the mythology of its biggest political icon outside of Mao. Although, my Chinese friend cautioned, "Sun wasn't exactly a saint. He was supported by the criminal underworld". Nevertheless, the film takes great pains to deliver the idea that Sun's revolution is worth the sacrifice of many lives.
The concept of many people sacrificing themselves for one hero will grate on our Western sensibilities. Our Jesus-archetype is the exact opposite. We tend to prefer the idea of one person sacrificing himself for many. This would explain why many Western critics find this film a little over the top.
If you watch this film for nothing else, then watch it for actor Wang Quexi's breathtaking arc-of-character. It is a credit to the man's skill that I could feel what he feels without understanding Mandarin. For this performance, Wang became the first mainland Chinese to win Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Critics Awards.
Bodyguards and Assassins was a fun, deeply moving, and brilliantly acted piece of propaganda. I enjoyed it without English subtitles. I wonder if I would have enjoyed it less or more if I knew what the characters were saying? I was fortunate enough to watch this film with my Chinese friend who reads widely on this subject. He survived the horrors of the Chinese Cultural Revolution and left for Australia shortly after the Tiananmen Square massacre. His healthy cynicism for his home country was on full display as we watched Bodyguards. Every time a character died for Sun, a caption popped up stating the date of birth and death of said character. My Chinese friend would grin. "These are not even real people", he would say. Indeed, the whole story is just another wonderful example of "alternative history" - a genre played with a deft hand by dictatorships everywhere. Bodyguards lovingly polishes the mythology of its biggest political icon outside of Mao. Although, my Chinese friend cautioned, "Sun wasn't exactly a saint. He was supported by the criminal underworld". Nevertheless, the film takes great pains to deliver the idea that Sun's revolution is worth the sacrifice of many lives.
The concept of many people sacrificing themselves for one hero will grate on our Western sensibilities. Our Jesus-archetype is the exact opposite. We tend to prefer the idea of one person sacrificing himself for many. This would explain why many Western critics find this film a little over the top.
If you watch this film for nothing else, then watch it for actor Wang Quexi's breathtaking arc-of-character. It is a credit to the man's skill that I could feel what he feels without understanding Mandarin. For this performance, Wang became the first mainland Chinese to win Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Critics Awards.