During the Warring States Period in China, a wizened advocate of peace and equality offers to lead the defense of a walled city of 40,000 against an invading army of 100,000. Despite early successes, his seemingly subversive ideas and growing popularity among the people are seen as challenges to the besieged king and this threatens to divide the defenders even as their battered enemies plan a final devastating attack on all fronts. Superstar Andy Lau (THE WARLORDS), actress Fan Bingbing (SHINJUKU INCIDENT) and veteran Korean actor Ahn Sung-kee (MUSA) star in this upscale, thought-provoking war drama that trades in the stylized martial heroics of other recent Chinese costumed epics for greater realism in military action. In other words, this is not THE WARLORDS or AN EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS. Living up to its original English title, BATTLE OF WITS provides equal measure high-brow warring between foot soldiers and cunning strategizing between field marshals and competing ideologies.
BATTLE OF WITS was adapted by director Jacob Cheung from a Japanese manga called “Bokko” (aka “Bokkou”) by author Hideki Mori. This manga was based on a historical novel by Kenichi Sakemi which in turn was based on historical accounts of China’s Warring States Period over two millennia ago. As such, historical accuracy isn’t really worth discussing here. It’s enough to state that Cheung treats the subject matter with enough care that most of it seems plausible. Cheung made some changes from the manga that Asian audiences may notice, such as making the hero more handsome, but few Westerners would be familiar with the source material so it’s another non-issue.
For its U.S. debut on DVD in 2009, the film was re-titled to BATTLE OF THE WARRIORS, thus de-emphasizing what actually makes the film compelling. Lau’s character, Ge Li, is not your typical Chinese hero. He’s a complex individual who relies on his moral guidelines and wits, rather than martial ability. He is a Mohist, a follower of Chinese philosopher Mozi who espoused a doctrine of universal love where everyone was to be regarded as being of equal value and treated with the same respect and care. In daily living, practicality and selflessness are held above formalities and selfishness. It’s a fascinating, humanist school of thought that emerged from the same era that Confucianism and Taoism originated from and shows how progressive some Chinese thinkers were some 2400 years ago. Interestingly, it’s relevant to the world we live in today where a major debate rages over whether or not citizens of a developed country should have the unalienable right to free health care regardless of station.
The film drops this progressive thinker into a similarly contentious situation and this is what makes the film so much more interesting than your standard period action drama. Ge Li convinces the Liang King (Wang Zhiwen) to give him command of the besieged capital city and successfully leads them to several early victories against an invading army of superior strength. His resourcefulness and caring leadership endears him to the common folk as well as many of the soldiers. This is best shown through his relationship with the leader (Nicky Wu) of a company of archers, as well as the King’s own son who goes from being resentful to enthralled by Ge Li’s leadership. After Ge Li appears to have driven the attackers away, he’s wrongfully accused of fomenting a rebellion and is forced to flee. When the invaders return and capture the city, Ge Li is faced with the difficult decision of returning once more to help the very people who now want him dead and face possible execution from either faction.
Veteran Hong Kong actor and filmmaker Wu Ma turns in an excellent supporting role as a ruthless advisor to the King. While he begins turning the King against Ge Li, several peasants become spies for the enemy and begin working against their own people. This creates plenty of tension within a walled city already on edge with invaders at their doorstep.
There is an unnecessary romantic angle thrown with the presence of Fan Bingbing as Yi Yue, the King’s cavalry commander and daughter of a semi-retired general. As the only attractive female in sight, she predictably falls in love with Ge Li and attempts to seduce him. Thankfully, Cheung doesn’t let this aspect of the film get out of control but their evolving relationship still threatens to derail the larger story towards the end.
Historical-based action sequences are nicely choreographed by veteran Hong Kong action director Stephen Tung Wei. I give Tung bonus points for managing to virtually remove all suggestion of the stylized martial arts action that Ching Siu-tung couldn’t stop himself from loading into THE WARLORDS and AN EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS. Lau’ character performs several heroic deeds during the siege of the city but nothing quite so exaggerated as the one-against-many battles waged by Jet Li and Donnie Yen in Ching’s films.
I don’t want to include a spoiler but there is one action sequence towards the end that had me scratching my head a little. It is a massive assault that comes from the air. It wasn’t poorly presented but the plausibility of it is highly questionable. I’m still waiting for Chinese filmmakers to make their GETTYSBURG, a real war film that recreates real combat tactics without excessive creative invention.
One disappointing aspect of the action is that the film never really lets the viewer get into the minute-by-minute struggle of the defenders. We don’t get to see much of the preparations, while Cheung seemingly prefers to surprise the audience with their various strategies that they unleash on their attackers. A more focused war movie would hone in on the tactics and get the viewer invested rather than keeping them at a distance. Yet what we do get to see is impressively staged and presented. The editing and camera work of DP Yoshitaka Sakamoto are complimentary and do not draw unwanted attention.
Jacob Cheung could have spent a little more time fleshing out the skirmishes and related logistics while some of the digital effects work could have been done better. There is one scene in particular that involves a horse and fire that looks very unreal. Regarding horses, I find it odd seeing so many European horses in ancient China. The horses that were indigenous to the continent look vastly different. They’re much smaller and look far less majestic. Interestingly, while Shaw Brothers was using European horses back in the ’60s and ’70s, mainland China still used their own stocky horses and you can see them in some of the mainland Chinese films of the early 1980s.
Cheung seems to have a real knack for balancing out his elements across the board. The whole film flows very naturally and while there are plenty of talky moments they are never dull. It helps that the script is well constructed and the acting is above average with Lau, a real pro, giving a flawless performance that is subtle yet engaging.
I have been a big fan of Ahn Sung-kee ever since I first saw him in the Korean historical actioner MUSA. He plays a less sympathetic character but one that is no less substantial. It’s understood that part of the reason he was cast was to increase the film’s marketability in South Korea but even setting his nationality aside, he adds tremendous value to the production and provides a terrific foil for Lau.
Two other actors worth mentioning are mainlander Xu Xiang-dong and Sammy Hung, Sammo Hung’s son. They both portray generals in the invading army in dramatic supporting roles. However, both are also skilled screen fighters and delivered memorable fighting and acting performances in the WING CHUN TV series.
BATTLE OF WITS is a definite step in the right direction when it comes to Chinese filmmakers making serious-minded historical epics. It’s not a masterpiece but it’s solid filmmaking that deals with a very interesting philosophical aspect of ancient Chinese history while remaining accessible to foreigners. Genre fans will find no Hong Kong-style martial arts action here but this works to the film’s advantage by allowing more realistic battle sequences to support a cleverly constructed script. I recommend the film to those who have been less than impressed with some of mainland China and Hong Kong’s other costume epics.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
Andy Lau • Battle of Wits (2006) • Fan Bingbing • Mohism • Sammy Hung • Stephen Tung Wei • Warring States Period • Xu Xiang-dong
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