Tuesday, January 17, 2012

1911


Jackie Chan as Huan Xing
I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone except as an insight how nationalistic Chinese view their own revolution. It's got a propagandistic tone that undermines both it's historical veracity and its value as entertainment. The Last Emperor was a better film, yet Sun Yat-Sen and the Revolutionaries are more interesting than the last of the Qing.

 If movie about the Xinhai Revolution is going to have appeal to a Western audience (not something the producers of 1911 had any reason to be interested in), the logical choice for a central character would be Homer Lea. Sadly, the Western actors in this movie were horrible -- most notably the actor who played Lea. But, I don't suppose movies about 5'3" hunchbacks who end up being trusted advisers to foreign revolutionaries are a hard sell.


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