AP - Wednesday, December
12
By MIN LEE,AP Entertainment
Writer
AP Interview:
Peter Chan says 'Warlords' grounded, realistic Chinese
epic
HONG KONG - Hong Kong director Peter Chan, known for his subtle,
sensitive love stories, hopes to give Chinese epics a makeover with
"The Warlords," a gritty film about three 19th century mercenaries,
being released across Asia on Thursday.
Historical epics are the black sheep of Chinese cinema. Although
top Chinese directors have had box office success with the genre,
critics say they lack artistic value.
One of the major Chinese films of the year, "The Warlords" _
starring Jet Li, Andy Lau and Japanese-Taiwanese actor Takeshi
Kaneshiro _ is about the breakdown in friendship between three
mercenaries during civil unrest in 19th century China.
Chan said in an interview with The Associated Press late Tuesday
that the US$40 million (�27.3 million) production, a remake of a
1973 Chinese film, is different from previous epics like Zhang
Yimou's "Curse of the Golden Flower" (2006) or Chen Kaige's "The
Promise" (2005) because there are no glittering gold costumes, no
gravity-defying kung fu fights _ just the gritty, cruel reality of
warfare.
"It's not romanticized. The characters don't fly around. It doesn't
sugarcoat human nature. It just gives you raw and blunt reality,"
Chan said.
The 45-year-old director said he has a more grounded approach to
Chinese epics.
"I did not set out to make a big movie," he said. "I set out to
make a movie that is about something."
Indeed, Chan does not hesitate to show the brutality of
warfare.
Li's character, Ma, is a pragmatist who advocates joining the
imperial government so his soldiers have better resources. He
slaughters hundreds of defeated enemies to conserve food supplies,
to the outrage of Lau's character, Cao Erhu.
Still, Chan gives Ma a softer side by having him fall in love with
Cao's beautiful wife.
Although the director successfully tackles the complexities of
human nature _ Li delivers a surprising performance as the
ruthless, yet emotional Ma _ the nuances are overwhelmed by the
sheer scale of the two-hour film.
Chan said he had to lobby investors to keep key details in the
film. He said Chinese investors frowned on the ragged clothes the
mercenaries wore, while American investors wanted flying kung fu
scenes.
In the end, the director said he prevailed _ even clearing a
largely unchanged edit with Chinese censors. China doesn't have a
ratings system, and all films must be appropriate for all
ages.
Chan said creative interference was inevitable considering the
film's large budget _ and hence large financial risk for
investors.
The US$40 million (�27.3 million) budget is considered huge by
Chinese standards. Only a major hit in China makes tens of millions
of U.S. dollars (euros), in contrast to the hundreds of millions a
Hollywood film can rake in domestically.
"The Warlords" has been sold throughout Asia, but Chan said he is
still negotiating deals in the U.S. and Europe.
Chan has made a name for himself as a director of romantic movies.
He made "Comrades, Almost a Love Story" (1996) about the
relationship between two mainland Chinese immigrants living in Hong
Kong, and the 1999 Hollywood film "The Love Letter," about a
woman's quest to find the author of a mysterious love letter.
He said he decided to make "The Warlords" because he felt too
confident making love stories.
"You're forced to become more creative when you're a little
insecure, when you're tackling something you've never done before
and you don't know how to do it," Chan said.
Chan said he hasn't decided on his next movie. He said he has
bought the movie rights to Ha Jin's English-language novel
"Waiting" _ about a Chinese army doctor seeking to end an arranged
marriage _ but doesn't plan to make the film in the next few
years.
