It's all doom and gloom

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Its action sequences are by Yuen Wo-ping, who choreographed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and its swelling music is by classical composer Tan Dun. You couldn’t ask for a tragedy that does more to fill the senses with gloom.

Ge You plays a Five Dynasties emperor who has murdered his brother to ascend the throne and now lusts after his wife (Ziyi Zhang). She, however, only has eyes for her stepbrother (Daniel Wu). A slaughter of Jacobean proportions eventually ensues, including several spectacular set-pieces.

Everyone speaks with a meaningful deliberation that is sometimes tiresome. But Feng orchestrates the film as if his version of the Bard were an important statement about the tragedy of human fallibility.

The Banquet
Cert: 15