Donnie Yen is the Lost Bladesman

The Guandao is the Gibson Les Paul of spears. It is named after the heroic “Three Kingdoms” General Guan Yu, even though he likely predated the weapon’s earliest documented existence by several centuries. It hardly matters. At this point, most of the stories surrounding the virtuous warrior are largely fiction, but they all boil down to him being the good guy fighting against the despised Cao Cao. However, Alan Mok & Felix Chong (best known for the Infernal Affairs and Overheard franchises) give the legend a twist in The Lost Bladesman (trailer here), which releases today on DVD, from Weinstein and Anchor Bay.

Guan Yu (Yunchang) was faithful to Shu Han warlord Liu Bei, arguably to a fault. Recognizing the loyalty and heroism Guan inspired, Cao Cao tried compromise his integrity, but he found he couldn’t corrupt a righteous man. Granted, Guan was willing to make common cause with his nemesis, under narrowly defined conditions, for the sake of the public good. Of course, he never did so at the expense of his higher principles.

Still, a devious schemer like Cao Cao was not willing to give up without a fight. Zeroing in on Guan’s Achille’s heel, the Imperial Chancellor arranged for him to escort Qi Lan, Liu’s intended consort and the love of Guan’s life, back to the Shu Kingdom, forcing them to run a gauntlet of Imperial forces and hopefully weakening them to amorous temptation.

Considering Donnie Yen will soon be even more world famous a Chirrut Ȋmwe in Rogue One: a Star Wars Story, it makes perfect sense a solid, representative 2011 Yen film would finally get a somewhat belated release. Bladesman features impressive work from Yen as both lead actor and action director. His close quarters spear battle with Andy On’s Gen. Kong Xiu is definitely worth multiple viewings. However, the real attraction is watching fellow Rogue One-co-star Wen Jiang swagger and conspire as Cao Cao. Yet, he also displays such dry wit and sly subtlety, he totally challenges and subverts preconceptions of the notorious figure. It is impossible to reduce his version of Cao Cao to an easy strawman caricature, yet he always looks like he is having a jolly good time.

Regardless, Yen is still the star and he develops some agonizingly tragic romantic chemistry with Betty Sun Li’s Qi Lan. Bladesman is all about denial and yearning rather than consummation, which makes it quite a refreshing change of pace. Although Mak & Chong are more at home in a cops-and-gangsters milieu, they have crafted a classy looking period drama. It boasts a terrific cast, but it is also fascinating the watch Mak & Chong present a complex and humanized portrait of Cao Cao, ranking somewhere between the sympathetic Chow Yun-fat in The Assassins and the scenery-chewingly villainous Zhang Fengyi in Red Cliff. Highly recommended for martial arts connoisseurs and fans of the starry cast, The Lost Bladesman is now available on DVD, from the Weinstein Company and Anchor Bay.

The Assassins: Cao Cao’s Lucky Stars

Though he died early in the Third Century, Cao Cao continues to be a potent figure in Chinese culture.  To bolster his legitimacy, Mao invited open comparisons between himself and the legendary general.  In 2009, Cao Cao’s tomb was supposedly discovered, but many archaeologists have questioned its authenticity.  Viewers get a glimpse inside Cao Cao’s tomb-in-progress as part of Linshan Zhao’s late Romance of the Three Kingdoms epic, The Assassins (trailer here), which releases today on DVD and Blu-Ray from Well Go USA.

You didn’t unify a large swath of China while protecting arguably the worst (and last) emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty without making enemies.  Cao Cao has plenty, some of whom are abducting orphans, training them to become assassins.  Their only target will be the Chancellor himself.  Young lovers Ling Ju and Mu Shun will have the best opportunity to complete the mission.  She will serve as a consort in Cao Cao’s Black Sparrow Tower, while he will be placed as a eunuch in the Imperial court.  Unfortunately, the shadowy cabal is willing to do what it takes to protect Mu Shun’s cover.

Ling Ju loves a eunuch, but she also begins to admire the crafty old general she is supposed to kill.  The common people’s esteem for Cao Cao and the stability he preserves is eye-opening for her.  She can also appreciate his knack for thwarting assassination attempts.  He seems to make all the right enemies, including the ungrateful slime-bucket of an emperor.  Yet, killing him might be the only way to free herself and Mu Shun.  Adding urgency, a prophecy about the four stars coming into alignment would seem to foretell the fall of the Han Dynasty and Cao Cao’s rise as their successor.

Frankly, Cao Cao is the best role Chow Yun-fat has had in years.  At his best, he nicely conveys the regrets and isolation of the warlord at the end of his career, while projecting an appropriate sense of badness, like a revisionist Eastwood wuxia figure.  He can be a bit stiff during the quiet scenes, though.  In contrast, Zhang Fengyi is far more enjoyably villainous as Cao Cao in John Woo’s Red Cliff (which Chow reportedly bailed out of at the last minute).  Yet, Jiang Wen’s world weary but still Machiavellian Cao Cao in Alan Mak & Felix Chong’s The Lost Bladesman remains the richest screen interpretation in recent years.

While there are a few adequately staged large scale action sequences, Assassins really is more of a romantic tragedy.  Zhao exercises surprising tear-jerking restraint, but Ling Ju and Mu Shun’s stolen moments together have real bite nonetheless.  (Crystal) Liu Yifei plays the former with a porcelain-like fragility, while Hiroshi Tamaki broods effectively as the emasculated Mu Shun.

Thanks to accomplished contributors like art director Yohei Taneda and cinematographer Xiaoding Zhao (whose credits include Kill Bill and House of Flying Daggers, respectively), Assassins is quite an impressive looking period production.  Although action fans might get frustrated with Assassins’ stately moodiness, there is something about Ling Ju and Mu Shun’s star-crossed love that resonates deeply.  Recommended for fans of historical melodrama more than swordplay, The Assassin is now available on home viewing formats from Well Go USA.