Course:ASIA355/2024/The Complexities of Inflexible Social Structures in Romance: An Analysis of The promise
The Complexities of Inflexible Social Structures in Romance: An Analysis of The Promise
Group Members' Contributions
| Tasks | Contributors |
|---|---|
| Introduction | K L |
| Stories Behind the Film Production | B L |
| Histories of Reception | B L |
| Scholarly Literature Review | K X |
| Comparative Analysis | K L |
| An Alternative Interpretation | B L |
| Conclusion | K X |
| Formatting | B L, K X, K L |
Introduction
The Promise is a fantasy film directed by fifth-generation filmmaker Chen Kaige. The film was produced by Xiudong Pictures and the China Film Group Corporation and released in China on December 15, 2005. The main characters in the movie include Kunlun (portrayed by Jang Dong-Gun), Mitsukoshi (portrayed by Hiroyuki Sanada), Qingcheng (portrayed by Cecilia Cheung), Wu Huan (portrayed by Nicolas Tse), and Ghost Wolf (portrayed by Liu Ye). The film's setting takes place in ancient China where Kunlun, a slave who can run extremely fast becomes a personal servant to the well-respected General Guangming (Hiroyuki Sadana)[1]. When General Guangming is injured from a battle, Kunlun takes General Guangming’s armor at the general's request to rescue the king from the invaders led by Wu Huan. During this mission, Kunlun saves Qingcheng (Cecilia Cheung), a princess with a curse destined to lose every man she loves. Throughout the film, Kunlun and Guangming develop strong feelings for the beautiful princess while Wu Huan plans a series of evil schemes to destroy them.
By exploring the mythical and romantic elements of the film “The Promise”, Chen Kaige’s film offers an immersive exploration of ancient China’s complex culture. The film intertwines elements of love, fate, and power to keep the viewer engaged throughout the entire film.
In this film review, we intend to explore the origins of film production while also obtaining insights into how the film was perceived after its release in 2005 and also in the present day to provide a more comprehensive review of the film. A comparative analysis between the film The Promise and The King and the Clown will be used to explore similarities in themes but also discuss notable differences in cinematography.
Stories Behind the Film
Chen Kaige’s film The Promise was known as one of his biggest productions in the 2000s. The Promise was a project that Chen Kaige valued greatly and the audience all had high hopes before it came out. Not only did the audience have high hopes for this film, but many investors also had high hopes. This massive production took 1090 days to film and it was estimated that it took 35 million American Dollars to produce.[2][3] Since director Chen constructed his own sets and cast actors from three different countries, the budget estimation was not shocking when it was announced to the public. They filmed in one of Asia’s biggest film studios (studio two of Beijing Film Studio) for internal sets and in Yunnan for outer sets.[4] Furthermore, the special effects that were required to complete the plot also cost a fortune. Therefore, not many people were surprised when the budget estimation was announced.
Money going down the drain regarding set building:
One of the biggest expenses while filming The Promise is the building of sets. The appearance of sets heavily influences the imagery of the movie and it directly relates to how the audience interprets the atmosphere of that particular scene. Therefore, director Chen took set construction very seriously when he was filming The Promise. For example, the scene where Manshen and little Qincheng are having a conversation at the beginning of the movie was shot in Asia’s biggest studio during that time, studio 2 of Beijing Film Studio.[4] Furthermore, director Chen invested 2 million RMB into building the house where Qincheng and General Guangming spent their happiest time (海棠精舍).[4] Unfortunately, the set was unusable even before the construction was completed because of its welding quality problems.[4] Therefore, the 2 million RMB that director Chen invested to build this set was wasted. Although the first attempt on building this set was unsuccessful, director Chen ordered the production crew to built it again, and the new set that was built is featured in the film.[4]
Crew members of The Promise damaging the environment:
When director Chen was filming The Promise in Shangri-la city of China, the crew was criticized for damaging the environment by leaving garbage behind after filming. [5] Shangri-la city is located in the province Yunnan and it is known for its natural scenery in China. With the crew damaging the environment, many people were furious about the situation. The locals at the Qian Hu Shan tourist site became even more enraged when the crew created a set without gaining permission.[5] Therefore, Chen Kaige’s crew was punished by paying a ninety thousand ticket to the local government.[5] They were also publicly criticized by the government to remind everyone that damaging the environment is a serious offense. This offense also affected the government officials as they were responsible for allowing the crew to film at the site. All government officials that were involved were fired from their position to educate individuals about protecting the environment.[5] The government has now removed all sets that were built by the crews at the site to return the natural scenery of the environment.
Histories of the Film’s Reception
The reception for The Promise is very diverse and controversial. Due to its massive production, many people were very excited and had high hopes for this movie. Unfortunately, when the movie came out, it did not fit the expectation of the citizens in China. Despite spending millions of dollars on it, many people criticized how awful the movie turned out. Although its publicity in China has mostly been negative, it was still nominated for many awards. For example, it was nominated for best foreign movie at the Golden Globe Awards in 2006 and it was also nominated for 5 awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards. [6] Furthermore, The Promise won the New Era International Film Festival’s Jin Yang Hua Award in 2022, which was created by the 1978 Excellence Awards.[7] After 17 years since the movie was released, it has won its first award. Shortly after the film's premiere and critical reception, Chen Kaige claimed in an interview that people in this era were unlikely to understand what he was trying to portray in The Promise.[8] He said that perhaps in ten years, people would understand the message he was attempting to get across with the film. This can act as an explanation on why the movie finally won an award after 17 years. Perhaps understanding what director Chen wanted to express in the movie requires a sophisticated mentality.
Harsh Criticism back in time:
The Promise was finally premiered on December 15, 2005 in China after three years of filming in Yunnan and Beijing. [9] With high hopes, many people bought tickets to see this massive production by Chen Kaige. When The Promise came out, Chen Kaige has already been in the filming industry for 21 years and his reputation is well-established. Therefore, many people walked into the movie theater with such high hopes. Due to its stunning settings and visual effects, many viewers thought the graphic scenery was outstanding; yet, many others thought the plot and dialogue between characters were ridiculous.[10] One critique stated that many of the dialogue between characters were like shakespearean language. The dialogues was very philosophical but yet simple.[10] In other words, the meaning of the dialogues were relatively simple but their use of shakespearean language made them difficult to understand. In addition, a majority of reviews said that the film's plot undermined the actors' excellent performances and its beautiful scenery.[10] However, although the film’s reviews were relatively negative in China, it still grossed 9 million American dollars after the first week of release. By the end of its run, the film grossed 18 million USD in mainland China, $654,435 USD in Hongkong China, and $69,625 USD in America. [11]
People’s interpretation of the film today:
The reviews about this movie have changed a lot compared to when it was first released. Nowadays, many people are claiming that they understood what director Chen was trying to portray through The Promise. Although Chen Kaige never elaborated on what he was trying to portray in the film, many people suggest that he tried to depict a sorrowful love story through the clash between Western and Chinese culture.[12] One critique stated that people's poor acceptance of this kind of movie genre was the cause for the high number of unfavorable reviews at the time of its initial release. As time evolved, with more of these fantasy-themed movies published in China, people’s mindsets changed and The Promise became more acceptable to the crowds. The review also stated that the movie’s narrative might have been a bit disorganized due to some scenes being trimmed to match the allotted duration but it was portrayed beautifully by Chen Kaige. Therefore, with a higher acceptance rate of fantasy movies in modern days, The Promise is currently receiving more positive reviews and has even won an award in 2022.
Scholarly Literature Review
The abundant scholarly literature peer review of The Promise provides multiple approaches for worthy discourse regarding the probable literacy potential of narrative structure, thematic elements, and cultural significance represented through the film. For instance, Ya-Chen Chen explores how the film reconstructs traditional romantic narratives in "The Promise: Re-writing Romantic Archetypes" (Chen 4-6). Chen draws parallels between Qingcheng and princesses from fairy tales in the West, citing examples of how the film innovates solutions to gender roles and sets Qingcheng a sense of agency and critical thinking—elements absent among princesses of Western equivalents. In this respect, this analysis elicits a progressive stance within the film on gender egalitarianism that sets it apart from personal, traditional romantic tales by providing agency as well as critical thinking flow that her instances in Western folklore lack[13].
Based on the article titled"Reconfiguring Class, Gender, Ethnicity, and Ethics in Chinese Internet Culture," both Haomin Gong and Xin Yang expand a wider cultural background that can be applied while understanding The Promise. They examine class, gender, and ethnicity at the junctures, probably relevant to digital places, reflecting the dynamics of society portrayed by Chen Kaige in his film. For instance, Kunlun's disadvantaged status in society makes him struggle to find his ultimate triumph, which leaves personally local instances of the broader themes of social mobility as well as resistance to class structures discussed by Gong and Yang[14].
Stephen Teo regards the film The Promise within the larger framework of Hong Kong-China cinematic collaborations. According to his article "Promise and Perhaps Love: Pan‐Asian Production and the Hong Kong–China Interrelationship," He emphasizes the scale of the film's production and its stakes for the Hong Kong-China interrelationship, highlighting cross-cultural exchanges as well as the financial institutions involved[15]. It predominantly reveals the dynamics that surrounded the making of this film—what precisely had been expected from it financially and artistically[15].
Although The promises gathered enormous positive reviews, some critical perspectives from scholars still can not be ignored. Chen states that while The Promise is a breakthrough in its attempt to redefine gender representations, it still has drawbacks in its execution [13]. Gong and Yang indicate the film's underestimation of the depth within the class structures of society [14]. To speak specifically, The feudal king's power derived mainly from the number of troops at his command, the administrative right of appointment and dismissal, and the legislative power, rather than relying on a certain great general like Guangming. In addition, the slave Kunlun possesses supernatural speed, but he is still willing to identify as a humble slave; this character of foolish loyalty leads to a one-dimensional and incomplete characterization. In addition, Teo discusses the issues and some failures within the production and cross-cultural ambitions of the film as well[15].
From the peer review we listed above, The multiple viewpoints toward The Promise from those scholarly peer reviews underpin innovations in narrative, cultural implications, as well as production challenges within the film. Moreover, the film indicates multivalent cultural artifacts are not only wrestling with narratives from the longer past but also wrestling with contemporary social queries and changes within the cinematic landscape of China.
Comparative Analysis
The Promise (2005), directed by Chen Kaige, and The King and the Clown (2005), by Lee Joon Ik[16], both explore common themes of fate, love, and the complexities of hierarchical societies. This comparative analysis will explore the similarities and differences with an emphasis on their display of romance, social class struggles, and the impact of destiny on the character's lives. This comparison is essential to highlight how Chinese and Korean films approach very similar themes.
Not only were the two films released in 2005, but both have also received numerous awards making the pair a very suitable comparison. Both films The Promise (2005), and The King and the Clown (2005), feature characters who are navigating societal restrictions and love all while chasing their own goals and ambitions.
The Theme of Complicated Love
In the film The Promise, the existence of a prominent love triangle between Princess Qingcheng, Kunlun, and General Guangming is prevalent throughout the entirety of the film. Similarly in the film The King and the Clown, the unspoken strong bond and love between the king and the clown Gong-Gil with the jealousy of the king’s wife also displays a complex romantic relationship between the characters in the film. The director of both films introduces their twists and complications to traditional romantic relationships, using them as a means to explore the character's development.
Historical and Fantastical Settings
Despite the lack of an exact period mentioned in the film The Promise, there still seem to be notable similarities between the fantasy world based on ancient China and the film The King and the Clown which is set during the Joseon Dynasty in Korea.
Due to China’s influence on Korean dynasties, we can see influences in architecture which gives commonalities in the architectural structure of buildings in both films. The technique and use of brick as a building material and the stacking of the side walls with bricks so that the walls reach the height of the roof and connect to the eaves[17] is a common feature between both films.
The Inflexibility of Social Class
In both films, The Promise and The King and the Crown implement main characters that originate from across the Social class. This helps to portray a wide range of struggles across the social spectrum. In the film, The Promise, Kunlun is a slave whose purpose is to serve General Guangming. Despite General Guangming’s decent treatment, Kunlun still faces disrespect from him. Additionally, Princess Qingcheng initially views Kunlun as a lowly servant which makes it difficult to form a strong bond due to their difference in social status.
In the film The King and the Crown, the two characters Jangsaeng and Gong-gil are clowns who entertain the royal court. Despite their high level of talent and support from the King, they always were not able to improve their social status or escape their roles solely as entertainers. In the romantic aspect, of Gong-gil’s strong relationship with the king, Gong-Gil was never able to get out of his role as an entertainer. Despite both romantic relationships in the film having different aspects, both lovers of the lower class were not able to leverage their relationship to escape their social barriers.
Cinematic Differences
While both films The Promise and The King and the Clown, both deeply explore themes of social class and romance, the difference in cinematography sets them apart. With the use of CGI, The Promise is known for its fantastical visual style. While in the film The King and the Clown, takes a more realistic approach. The film The Promise has a prominent use of bright colors to create a mythical feel to the setting while the film The King and the Clown implements natural lighting still camera shots with more natural colors to accurately capture the authenticity and realism of the historical Joseon period. The editing styles of both films are very different, while The Promise offers a more fast-paced dynamic feel with quick cuts and transitions from the past lives of each character, the film The King and the Clown uses a more continuative editing style to create a seamless and immersive experience. This style of editing in the film The King and the Clown helps maintain its realism and allows viewers to focus more on the characters emotionally.
Alternative Interpretation
Many people have analyzed and concluded their interpretation of The Promise. After reading the scholarly review of Ya-Chen’s interpretation of The Promise, we have formed a few disagreements against her interpretation. In her article, she argues that “the stories of Snow White and The Promise seem to give women more freedom to interact with different men, to compare and contrast them, and to choose their “Princes Charming".[18] According to her interpretation of the movie, Chen Kaige gives Qingcheng the autonomy to choose her path, in contrast to western fairy tales where the female lead always has a fixed "prince charming" (no freedom to choose). Furthermore, she supports her claim using the final scene, in which Wuhuan and Guangming both perish but Kunlun survives. While Ya-Chen's allegation is backed up by concrete evidence, we believe that director Chen does not give Qingcheng the ability to critically think and the autonomy to select her "prince charming" in the movie. Our claim can be supported by two scenes in the movie: the scene where Manshen pursues a dialogue with little Qingcheng and the ending scene where Wuhuan, Guangming, and Kunlun fight.
The movie's opening conversation between Manshen and Little Qingcheng is the first scene we have selected to support our claim. The context of this scene is very important, as it directly relates to our claim. In this scene, Manshen states that although everyone's ending is controlled by fate if Little Qingcheng is willing to sacrifice genuine love, she can provide Little Qingcheng with wealth, beauty, and endorsement from everyone. At the end, little Qingcheng accepts Manshen’s offer of exchanging true love for all the goods in the world. This scene demonstrates that little Qingcheng’s fate is already decided, although many people argue that it was she who chose this path. As a little girl who doesn’t even know if she’ll survive tomorrow, her circumstances won’t allow her to reject Manshen’s deal. Therefore, we hold the belief that Qingcheng's destiny was to trade her love for money. As Ya-Chen argues that Director Chen gave Qingcheng the ability to choose her fate, we argue that the circumstances would not allow her to reject Manshen’s deal; therefore, it was destined for Qingcheng to accept Manshen’s offer and trade in her love.
Another scene that supports our claim on how Chen Kaige did not give Qingcheng the choice of selecting her prince charming is the last scene where Kunlun, Guangming, and Wuhuan fight. We believe that this battle is destined due to the conflicts between the three male characters. As Manshen stated everyone’s ending is controlled by fate, it was destined for Wuhuan and Guangming to die. In the movie, we believe that Qingcheng truly loves Guangming instead of Kunlun. Throughout the movie, Qingcheng never once firmly states that she adores Kunlun. Therefore, if Chen Kaige had given Qingcheng the ability to choose her prince charming, Guangming wouldn’t have died. It was all destined since Qingcheng traded her true love for wealth and beauty. In the end, she had no choice but to choose Kunlun since he was the only one who survived the battle. Many people might suggest that Kunlun is the prince charming of Qingcheng, but we believe that Guangming is her prince charming.
Note: This whole section is based on Ya-chen Chen's scholarly review [18]
Conclusion
All in all, The Promise stands out as an important work in the fantasy film genre. Although the film has been praised for its visual communication and special effects, many critics believe that the storyline lacks logic and is often difficult for the audience to understand and relate to, especially for non-Chinese cultural backgrounds. In addition, the use of CGI and the complexity of the plot were among the film's faults, seriously affecting the film's reputation. However, with time, modern audiences have more positive attitudes towards the film, which is the reason why the film has won many awards later on. Through comparative analysis, the film shares thematic similarities with other works such as The King and the Clown, highlighting the universal struggles in love, destiny, and social hierarchy. Thus, The Promise exemplifies the great progress made by Chinese directors in the production of fantasy films and affirms the film's place in cinematic history, despite its numerous flaws.
References
</references>
- ↑ Rotton, Tomato (2024-07-28). "Master of the Crimson Armor".
- ↑ "陈凯歌的《无极》或许真的没有那么烂". 2019-08-12. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
|first=missing|last=(help) - ↑ Zhang, Xuan (2005-12-21). "《无极》赚了票房 赔了口碑". 影音娱乐. Retrieved 2024-07-217. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "《无极》(The Promise)国粤双语版【MKV】【1080P】【521M]". ZMX - IT技术交流论坛 - 无限Perfect，追求梦想 - itzmx.com. 2012-5-31. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
|first=missing|last=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Du, Yu (2006-08-12). "《无极》剧组被罚9万元". 新浪 新闻中心. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ↑ "无极 (2005) The Promise 获奖记录". 时光网. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ↑ ""百年百部优质电影"获得金扬花奖". 新浪娱乐. 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ↑ "陈凯歌：10年内没人看懂《无极》，如今14年过去，你懂了吗？". 网易. 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
|first=missing|last=(help) - ↑ "无极 (2005)". 豆瓣电影. 2024-07-27. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "《无极》火线速评：越用力，越拍出滥片". 新浪影音娱乐. 2005-12-16. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ↑ "The Promise". Box Office Mojo by IMDbPro. 2024-07-27. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ↑ "《无极》：陈凯歌的清汤寡水". 网易娱乐. 2005-12-19. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Chen, Ya-chen. "The Promise: Re-writing Romantic Archetypes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on
|archive-url=requires|archive-date=(help). Invalid|url-status=http://clients.jordanjennings.com/Mediascape/HTML/Spring07_ThePromise.pdf(help) - ↑ 14.0 14.1 Yang, Xin (winter 2017). ""Haomin Gong & Xin Yang, Reconfiguring Class, Gender, Ethnicity and Ethics in Chinese Internet Culture. New York: Routledge, 2017."". "Haomin Gong & Xin Yang, Reconfiguring Class, Gender, Ethnicity and Ethics in Chinese Internet Culture. New York: Routledge, 2017.". Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Teo, Stephen (2008). Promise and perhaps love: Pan‐Asian production and the Hong Kong–China interrelationship. Inter‐Asia Cultural Studies. pp. 341–358.
- ↑ "King and the Clown".
- ↑ Seo, M (2023). ""Rethinking of Joseon's Transition to Modern Times in the Late Joseon Dynasty: Focusing on Chinese-Style Architecture Manifested in the Joseon Dynasty in the 19th Century". Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, vol. 23, no. 1, 2023, pp. 1–18. Taylor & Francis.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Ya-chen, Chen (2024-07-27). "The Promise: Re-writing Romantic Archetypes" (PDF). p. 1. Retrieved 2024-07-27.