Xi tai hou

The literal translation of the title of this movie is: The Empress Dowager.

This movie is sarcastic about the current political situation in China by depicting what was in the past, so it is an indirect social criticism of the current regime. For example, the movie accurately depicted the fact that officials in the imperial courts are not selected by merits or ability, but by connection, and the incapable officials got their posts only because they were Manchurians and they kept their posts even though their lack of ability lead to military defeats. Even the most stupid Chinese can make the connection between the past and present because the two mirrors each other. This is the hidden message behind the scene.

The film packs a lot of content, with beautiful traditional costume, decor, achitecture, storytelling, song, allusions to BeiJing Opera, and history and cultural practices of many sorts. And Gong Li is always a treat, even in this dated movie. I can only give 6 stars as the story about the corruption and intrigues at the Qing court doesn't make any sense in the poor english translation and I don't speak Mandarin.

I am a huge fan of Gong Li to the extent that I am trying to obtain all the films she has ever been in. I was delighted to pick this film up from yes Asia.com which is a great place to get hard to find Chinese films. however this film is really bad. The plot makes little sense, it is very hard to follow the story. Gong Li isn't bad in this but she disappears halfway through the film and only her return would have improved this film. I have seen nearly all of Gong Li's films and this is the worst by a mile. Avoid this at all costs unless you are a sad completest like myself. I am giving this film a mark of two out of ten and those two marks are for Gong Li.