The Warlords | Eastern North Carolina Now

    
The Blood Oath Transcends All

    A half a world away in the short time after the conclusion of the American Civil War, there existed another bloody conflict, The Taiping Rebellion, in the late Qing Dynasty in China. The Taiping Rebellion was long and bloody with an estimated 20,000,000 casualties, most of them civilians, that weakened the social fabric of China to the extent that communism took hold before, during and definitely after the second world war, which began in 1931 for China. This historical maelstrom paved the way for the communist regime of Mao Tse Tung, and their perpetuated horrors - such as the Cultural Revolution.

    Civilian deaths in rebellions, revolutions and open warfare with neighboring powers is certainly a staple in the history of this ancient land. Co-directors Peter Chan and Wai Man Yip ably brought to their audience in “The Warlords,” a fair representation of the prevailing desperation of a people constantly engaged in conflict, and torn within the construct of the practicability of leadership in battle, with the ideals of forging new, fairer principles in the governance of people. “The Warlords” makes a valiant attempt to reconcile this disparity of process in 19th century China by incorporating the story of General Pang Qingyun, played by martial arts specialist Jet Li.

    This story begins with the destruction of General Pang Qingyun’s forces, representing the Qing Dynasty’s establishment of power, by the Tiapieng rebels. The battle was so horrific, and complete for the rebels that General Qingyun was the only survivor. He was disoriented by the battle, and in desperate need of recuperation. He found that form of recuperation in the sympathetic female person of Lian, the common law wife of Zhao Er-Hu, played by the winsome Jinglei Xu.



    Zhao Er-Hu, known simply as Er-Hu by his band of bandits, is played by Andy Lau. His co-leader of the band of bandits, and sworn brother to the titular blood oath, is Zhang Wen-Xiang, played by Takeshi Kaneshiro, which reunites these two fine actors, Lau and Kaneshiro, for the first time since their collaboration on the visual classic “House of Flying Daggers.” Lau and Kaneshiro are well-trained in the skill of martial arts, but are both actors first, and are well-suited to play the melodramatic roles required of them to portray their place in this sad, sorry period of China’s past. Jet Li, on-the -other-hand, is a martial arts world champion in Wushu, and has become an actor of notable skill.

    Andy Lau as the loyal and principled Er-Hu: Above. Jet Li as the courageous leader, General Qingyun: Below.



    The martial arts, that are so much an overwhelming part of most Jet Li films, is understandably absent in “The Warlords.” There is, of course, the martial arts movements within the moments of the heavy sword play that was characteristic to that era in China, however, that form of action was not the directive of this film. Oddly, the nation that invented gunpowder was decades behind the rest of the world in the prevailing advancement of the ordnance of that era. That disparity was most apparent, as the producers of this film were correct to exhibit the ancient long muskets and canon of Imperial China. “The Warlords,” therefore, is more a story of the incredible sociological pain of The Taiping Rebellion built upon that historical stage that gave the audience a fairly accurate perspective of those terrible times.



    This film’s presentation of story is driven by the colors and costume of that time, as well as the remarkably well cast group of lead actors, who, through chemistry and their inordinate skill at melodrama, project those melodramatic moments with a great conviction. Invariably, through the film’s aforementioned positive points, it works well in it’s 126 minutes of runtime, and should be considered a minor achievement that will draw the curious audience member in to provide a glimpse of a vision of the extraordinary history of a far away land.



    The aforementioned titular blood oath transcends all times and all places by representing what is good within some humans: honor, duty and a dedication to the lofty ideals that afford hope to the speices, and allows us to search for a better existence. The practicality of such lofty ideals, and how each of the three blood brothers observe their responsibility to that aspiration, and each other, is the common thread of theme that pulls this tale together and makes this visually stunning film important.

    Released in theaters in the USA April 2, 2010. Rated R.

   This article is provided courtesy of our sister site, Better Angels Now.


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