It is five hundred years BC and China is made up of many warring kingdoms; in one, the Kingdom of Lu, a mayor has been recognised by his ruler because of his compassionate ways and the peace in his town. For this he is promoted to the position of Minister of Law and he is soon showing the same compassion and wisdom on the national stage; the man is Kong Zi… better known in the west as Confucius. His rapid rise doesn't please everybody though; the noble families don't like the fact that this common-born man is being treated as an equal and see him as a threat and the enemies of Lu see him as somebody who must be removed before they can conquer Lu. In a confrontation with the Kingdom of Qi he manages to secure victory without bloodshed despite being drastically outnumbered. This leads to further promotion and his enemies within Lu decide he must go. Forced into exile Kong Zi and his followers wander through neighbouring lands as conflict increases; ultimately they are almost starving but they won't abandon their leader and his teachings.I'm surprised that this film isn't better known; it may not have the gravity defying martial arts of better known wuxia films but it does have some solid action scenes and the title role is played by Chow Yun Fat. He does a fine job in the role; the rest of the cast were unknown to me but also perform well. As with other Chinese historical films everything looks stunning and is stylishly filmed. Not knowing the history of the time I can't say how accurate the film is but it is an entertaining story with highs and lows; joy and tragedy. Overall if you are a fan of Chinese cinema I'd say this one is definitely worth watching.

Chow Yun Fat has only recently been able to pull himself out of the 'B Grade' bracket, and then he jumps into something like this...? Beats me. I never expected much of this film. I can only pity anyone who did. lol.If your bored and looking for a movie you never saw before and like strange humor like re-takes and dragged on jokes... (IE maybe your a big fan of 'kung-pow') then you might find this entertaining... in which case I would pity you more. lol.As for all the idiots (I refrained from using the word 'uneducated' as most idiots have flopped through one education system or another these days. - ie. I know a marketing lecturer who quit because his university told him he had to 'pass' at least half the class, when most of them couldn't even speak English, let alone market to an English speaker.) Anyhow... like I was saying... all the idiots who are spouting all the garbage about politics and communism. It's laughable. If they even knew how many people were members let alone the procedures, they would probably realise that the only real lack of democracy comes from "corruption". Are they under the illusion that this this corruption isn't in western or other societies. Or perhaps that western or other societies don't use media for political or propaganda purposes. That's just too stupid to be called ignorant. ...Which basically describes anyone who isn't a Chow Yun Fat supporter and somehow had an interest in watching this movie.As far as historical correctness. It has about as much truth to it as any one-man-perspective piece of garbage that we like to call history, so that's not exactly an issue as far as I'm concerned. Once again, the only people who would be bothered by this is the idiots who say "Nah, yeah, it's true man! I saw it on a movie once!"

This is the film that the film bureau of the PRC's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television wanted to pit against Avatar? Really??? This film wouldn't even last five seconds against Judge Judy.Here is what I learned from the film: Confucius would have made a perfect litigant for Judge Judy's binding arbitration, 'make belief' court, being sued by his wife for back child support and breach of contract by his 'students.' The film portrayed Confucius as a 'bum'--as Judge Judy would say--who abandoned his wife and children after becoming unemployed. He then meandered all over the feudal kingdoms of ancient China, turning down job after job for the next few decades or so while taking on more students to service him, even when he had no funds or resources to see to their education. In his defense, Confucius say: "I want to change things!" However, other than the fairly common desire to see an end to the perpetual conflicts between warring principalities that characterized the Spring and Autumn Period, it is not entirely clear in the film what specific changes he wanted to affect or how his teachings were going to bring about those changes. In fact, other than dispensing one liner fortune cookie wisdom, when did he actually 'teach' in this film? Now let's put this film into context. As the PRC's communist ideological framework crumbles under the reality of its free market political and economic reforms, the post-socialist Chinese state 're-discovers' once banished Confucian ideals as a way to attempt to re-align its political authority with a moral authority, re-unite the disparate social and political elements of Chinese society, and distinguish the uniqueness of its modernization from Western industrialized countries. But even as a propaganda film meant to promote social values that would reconcile the PRC's authoritarianism with market capitalism, this film fails. It fails because the story was badly scripted and delivered by an over-dramatic acting style reminiscent of the last generation of period Chinese films. It's not smart or stylish, but is desperately trying to be in order to reach a new generation of Chinese movie-goers who would rather be stupefied by films like Avatar instead of being stupefied by films like this.Two stars, for the women in the film - the only aspect of this film that was not profoundly irritating.

The most controversial and dramatic thing about this movie happened off-screen in mid-January. Many Internet users and related groups called for a boycott of the film when it was reported that China had ordered 2D versions of "Avatar" to be pulled out so that more people would watch "Confucius". However, due to low attendance for "Confucius", and the high demand for "Avatar", the Chinese government reversed their decision and allowed "Avatar" to remain on some 2-D screens in China. The movie was to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China and Confucius' 2,560th birthday.Yes, this is after Mao Zedong's Red Guards condemned the ancient scholar and destroyed his family cemetery and temple in his hometown of Qufu. Ironically, one of Confucius sayings is that "an oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger".The first half of the movie traces the rise and popularity of Confucius (played by Chow Yun Fat) in the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period where he is known for his fair and just ideas about running the affairs of the state. He is promoted from town mayor to minister. However, his ideas and practices break with tradition and anger the ruling families. An example is when he saves a burial slave from being entombed alive. He incurs the wrath of the rulers of the surrounding kingdoms by tricking them into giving back seized territory without any violence.The second half, circa 497 BC, shows Confucius and his disciples in exile, wandering about for years and getting chased away by the locals.As you can see from the paragraphs above, the first half of this two-hour film is more eventful and interesting than the second. There is a gripping war sequence about the storming of a fort that recalls the action in "Red Cliff." And that's about it for the action fans.Chow rises to the occasion as the calm and collected Kong Qiu, the revered teacher whose philosophy and views helped to revolutionize some states in China. When political jealousy and fears about his influence send him into exile, the scenes get repetitious and languid. This is punctuated with a subplot about Nan Zi (Zhou Xun), consort to the Wei king who respects the wisdom of Confucius. However, her magnetic appearances are brief and almost cameo-like, leaving most of the second half as prolonged and protracted scenes of Kon Qiu's wanderings and sufferings.Technically, this US$23-million production looks rich and even stunning at times. Cinematographer Peter Pau (of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" fame) captures the period and locations in all their glory and helps to put us in the right mood and atmosphere of the times."Confucius" is not a lost cause. It just looks long-drawn messy, like too many cooks having a hand at the broth. - LIM CHANG MOH (limchangmoh.blogspot.com)