1911
Zhang Li, Jackie Chan
The story: The Xinhai Revolution, which is also the more informative Chinese title, is about the overthrow of the imperial Qing Dynasty and the attempt to establish a republic in China. It is bookended by the Wuchang Uprising on Oct 10, 1911, and the abdication of Emperor Puyi on Feb 12, 1912. The key characters in this political and military drama include revolutionary leaders Sun Yat Sen (Winston Chao) and his right-hand man Huang Xing (Jackie Chan), the hemmed-in Empress Dowager Long Yu (Joan Chen) desperately hanging on to power and general Yuan Shikai (Sun Chun), playing both sides for his own vainglorious ends.
Despite the movie poster and the much-hyped fact that it is his 100th work, this is not a Jackie Chan movie. It is not his typical action- adventure vehicle but an ambitious ensemble drama that attempts to convey a crucial period of tumult and upheaval in China in the centenary of the Xinhai Revolution.
It is one of several upcoming historical movies about the revolution, or one of the many uprisings leading to Xinhai, including The Woman Knight Of Mirror Lake, which opens here next month.
Zhang Li, who shares the directing credit on 1911 with Chan, is no stranger to the genre or material: He had helmed the 60-episode TV series Towards The Republic (2003), which spanned 20 years and covered far more ground.
Also, scribes Wang Xingdong and Chen Baoguang had worked on the similarly epic series The Founding Of The Republic (2010), which covered a later time period.
Together, they make a complicated era of history easy to follow and engaging. The big picture and personal stories are handled well and their juxtaposition is effective.
As Dr Sun Yat Sen makes his case for revolution with stirring rhetoric, we are also shown the stark human cost of revolution. Zhang was the cinematographer for blockbusters such as Red Cliff and he is adept at handling the major battle scenes of carnage and destruction.
At the same time, there are vignettes of some martyrs to make viewers emotionally invested as the history unfolds on screen. Popular China actor-singer Hu Ge, for example, leaves an impression as the idealistic Li Juemin, who is ready to leave behind his wife and baby and sacrifice himself for his beliefs.
Key moments are distilled into memorable scenes. Faced with a barrage of bad news, the empress dowager begins to cry and that sets the child emperor Puyi bawling too, as if they were lamenting in unison the dynasty’s fate.
The actors are consistently good across the board. In his fourth outing as Dr Sun, Chao convinces you of the man’s oratorical skills and revolutionary zeal. Chen is imperious as the doomed dowager and Sun Chun is spot-on as the cunning and ambitious Yuan Shikai.
Chan fares well as the loyal Huang Xing, though there is a jarring Jackie Chan moment when he single-handedly thwarts an assassination attempt on Dr Sun. For a moment, the film threatens to veer into Bodyguards And Assassins (2009) territory, where history is just an excuse for popcorn entertainment.
But 1911 is no documentary. Co-director Zhang has said: “The retelling of the events of 1911 is a way of using art to revisit those revolutionary heroes, their patriotism and willingness to risk their lives.”
What the film does, powerfully, is to make history come alive.
(ST)