LI LIANYING, THE IMPERIAL EUNUCH
A film review by Thomas E. Billings
Copyright 1991 Thomas E. Billings
Synopsis: The story of Tzu-hsi, the Dowager Empress of China, and her relationship with Li Lianying, her lead eunuch. A historical drama, filled with palace intrigue and conflict. Very well made, the film should appeal to fans of historical Chinese films.
China/Hong Kong (English and German subtitles), color, 1991, 110 minutes. Director/Writer: Tian Zhuangzhuang.
The story is told through flashbacks, as the elderly Li Lianying recounts his adventures as the lead eunuch to the Dowager Empress. The stories span a period of 40 years, and include various palace intrigues, such as Li Lianying being accused of bribery and impersonating a Prince; Li Lianying trying to get his niece married to the Emperor; and the romance between the Emperor and his favorite consort, Pearl Blossom. Also dramatized is the Empress fleeing the Forbidden City just before it is captured by "foreign devils" (the British), and her later return to power.
Li Lianying and the Dowager Empress are frequently portrayed in extremely unsympathetic terms. In particular, Li Lianying is generally considered to have been very evil. This film presents them in a slightly more sympathetic light. Li Lianying is a complex character, somewhat scheming and cunning but not openly evil. The evil things that he does are on the direct orders of the Dowager Empress. The Dowager is portrayed as a cunning, domineering and manipulative woman, but who can be nice, at least to Li Lianying. Much of the emphasis in the film is on the relationship between Li Lianying and the Empress.
The film is well-made; lavish sets were made and portions of the film were actually made in the Forbidden City. The photography is excellent, and the story is well-written. However, the film is rather slow-moving, and this may bother some viewers. Some knowledge of Chinese history during the reign of the Dowager Empress will increase your appreciation for the film, but it is not absolutely necessary.
Because the film is somewhat slow-moving and on a topic of limited interest, I would not recommend it to a general audience. However, if you are interested in Chinese history, or enjoy Chinese "historical films", then you will probably find it worthwhile.
Print Source: Skai Film Production Ltd.; Flat B, 10/F, Kee Shing Commercial Bldg.; 80, Kimberly Road; Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Reviewer contact: teb@stat.Berkeley.EDU
.
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews