The Last Supper
(AKA King's Feast)
2012; directed by Lu Chuan

Even though may fans are getting tired of the wave du jour of "historical epic" films coming from Hong Kong and China, director Lu Chuan has shown he can craft interesting takes on well-worn stories, as he did with the Nanking Massacre in City of Life and Death. Here, Lu puts his own spin on the story of the feast at Hong Gate, an event which was also recently brought to the big screen with Daniel Lee's White Vengeance.

Taking place toward the end of the Qin Dynasty, the feast at Hong Gate was a major point in the revolution against the emperor led, in different factions, by Liu Bang (Liu Ye) and Xiang Yu (Daniel Wu), with Liu eventually getting the upper hand and becoming the first emperor of the Han Dynasty. The actual banquet itself is a relatively small portion of the film, as the storyline shifts timelines and perspectives, even as the tale is ostensibly told by an aging Liu Bang on his deathbed.

It is this dense method of storytelling that may be off-putting to some, especially those unfamiliar with this period of Chinese history. Lu Chuan also is readily influenced by Shakespeare and Kurosawa; unlike the hyper-kinetic and blood-soaked episodes many viewers have come to know from Hong Kong cinema, Lu's Mainland style may be too sedate for action junkies, as the emphasis here is definitely more on political powerplays, rather than martial arts battles.

One has to give kudos to Lu for his digs at the current Chinese regime's treatment of historical facts, a fairly major accomplishment given the government's heavy hand when it comes to film censorship. The fact that he can weave political and social commentary into the narrative without hitting the viewer over the head with his viewpoint is a testament to his strength as a director, making him as one of the bright points in the sometimes dim modern world of Chinese and Hong Kong film-making.

RATING: 7

Blu-ray/DVD Information

Random Media and Cinedigm has recently released the film for the North American market in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. The Blu-ray is presented in a crisp 2.35:1 1080p picture and a DTS 5.1 Mandarin soundtrack. Subtitles are available in English, which are easy to read and free of grammatical errors. Though the release falls short in terms of extras -- both discs are devoid of any bonus materials -- this is still overall worth a purchase if you enjoy the movie.

The combo pack is available from Amazon.