THE DUEL
(Madman Entertainment)
Reviewed by Jonathan
Marshall
The Duel is the latest from the production house
behind the superb Storm Riders and the rather mixed A Man Called
Hero. The Duel lacks the sophisticated examination of destiny
and ambition of director Andrew Lau Wai-Keung's Storm Riders.
Similarly, while Riders beautifully employed special effects and
CGI to visually amplify the bodies of the combatants, the translation of
this approach to the aesthetics of swordsmanship is somewhat less
impressive here. Even so, the quiet, gentle build up of telegraphed
tensions, themes of duty and devotion to the life of a swordsman, the
place of romance in such a life, and the intrigues of the Imperial Chinese
city lends this film an elegant clarity missing in the eye-candy and weird
ideas which drove A Man Called Hero. The fights here are short,
sharp and sweet.
Perhaps most charmingly, the narrative is focused around
the wonderfully roguish character of Dragon 9 - Nicky Cheung,
complete with dreadlocks and a gimmicky umbrella he wields with a
light-hearted grace. Cheung gives a comic lilt to every scene he is
in, while nevertheless allowing the serious plot elements to resonate. His
is a character perpetually laughing at the joy and sadness of the world.
Lau Wai-Keung's cinematography is again a
luscious treat of glowing colors, light and design elements. This renders
the palace as a tapestry of bold hues, dark corners and steely yet warm
external light. Though Lau Wai-Keung is both less symbolic
and comprehensive in his use of color, this quality of his work makes The
Duel worthy of comparison to Bertolucci's The Last Emperor
or Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lantern. This is particularly
true given the absence of the more flashy camera style Lau Wai-Keung often
favours. Gold - a color reserved for the Emperor in Imperial China - here
becomes symbolic of an unattainable beatitude. Similarly, although the
score lapses into fairly programmatic orchestral gestures as the tragic
destiny of the characters is revealed, the use of re-jigged Chinese
strings and a lovely Eastern-techno beat vaguely reminiscent of the Bond
theme keeps things rattling along.
The Duel is a deliberately less awesome film than Riders
or Hero, but partly because of this is perhaps the most satisfying
and certainly the most fun of them, while still having some serious
intent.
© 2000 Jonathan Marshall
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