Ms. Spenser asked me to put on Creation of the Gods: Kingdom of Storms (2023). Not because she wanted to watch it - she just wanted something not too distracting to put on in the background while she worked. It's one of those amazing tales of the ancient Chinese empires. Because it isn't in English (subs over dubs!), it doesn't distract her much.
It is set in the Shang dynasty, one of the oldest. It starts with Prince Fei Xiang leading an army against a rebel king. One of the rebel's sons, who has been a hostage of the emperor, pleads with him to surrender, but is met with arrows. To show his dedication to the empire, he attempts to kill himself in front of his rebel father. But Fie Xiang has to help him through it, with foster-fatherly care.
It seems that choosing between loyalty to family versus loyalty to the empire will be a big theme here.
The rest of the movie is a little vague in my mind. Kings and hostages are killed, and war and suffering fill the land. Some immortals come from the Kunlun paradise, including a warrior, a sage and a little kid who is surrounded by a decorative ribbon, which he can also use a weapon. There is a seductive fox demon. There is palace intrigue, prophecies and weighty philosophical issues. It's all a bit hazy.
That's partly because I was just reveling in the cool sets and costumes. Everything is richly ornamented and beautifully filmed. Even Ms. Spenser looked up now and then and said she might want to actually watch this sometime.
Since it's the first of a planned trilogy, we might get to see more.
No comments:
Post a Comment