Two hundred years BC, during the Qin dynasty, Ying Zheng (Jiang Wen), the first emperor of a united China, is weary of war. His one remaining desire is to have an anthem (the film was originally called The Emperor's Song) that will celebrate his achievement.
To compose this, he seeks out a childhood friend, Gao (Ge You), who has to be captured in one of the provinces that Ying does not yet control. Gao refuses, and Ying agrees to let his scheming daughter, Yueyang (Xu Qing) attempt to win him round.
That, in a nutshell, is the plot of Qin song (The Emperor's Shadow), reportedly the most expensive film ever produced in China without the aid of western capital (the bulk of the money came from Hong Kong's Ocean Film).
Combining a stunning recreation of China's dark ages, long before the civilisation of the Ming and Qing dynasties, with a three-way central conflict that is more chamber-drama than epic, the film has been hailed as a new departure for Chinese film, being simultaneously spectacular and on a human scale. Ying has the power, as the size and brutality of his army demonstrates. But Gao has the ability to provide him with the one thing he wants but cannot have. Yueyang, meanwhile, is repeatedly frustrated in her attempt to employ feminine wiles.
'It's about how the Emperor attempted to rule by controlling other people's minds,' explains Zhou of the film, which was shown privately in the Market in Cannes this year, adding that the mix of psychological conflict and scenes which would make the Emperor's massive power obvious to the viewer were essential to the film.
'There is one particularly spectacular scene which needed 10,000 people,' he grins, 'but some of that needed to be computer-generated, which is a first for a Chinese film.' The biggest number of actual extras used, he adds, was in excess of 6,000.
Prod co: Xi'an Film Studio, Ocean Film.
Prod: Jimmy Tan, Chen Kunning, Zhang Pimin.
Dir: Zhou Xiaowen.
Guión (Scr): Lu Wei.
Foto (Ph): Lu Gengxin.
Art dir (Prod des): Cao Jiuping, Zhang Daqian, Dou Guoxiang.
Mus: Zhao Jiping.
Mont (Ed): Zhong Furong.
Ints (Cast): Jiang Wen (Ying Zheng), Ge You (Gao Jianli), Xu Qing (Ying Yueyang).
Ventas (Sales): Ocean Film.
Duración (Running time): 116 mins.
Programacion (Screening): 19.30, 22 Sept, Principal; 09.00, 23 Sept, Victoria Eugenia
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