Confucius (2010) User Reviews

Messy and Long-drawn but Still Engaging

[changmoh · 6/10 · 28 February 2010]

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)

this movie is not extremely bad.

[wdxc2000 · 5/10 · 29 January 2010]

the extremely bad thing about this movie is Chinese government try to control movie market and push it eagerly. in order to do it, Chinese government forced hot movie Avator out from cinema. as a result, there is no doubt, Chinese internet users initiate a movement to boycott this movie. they say: we don't have votes. however, we have cinema tickets. so, box office of this movie is horrible now. that is also why so many people give it a very low vote, such as 1 out of 10. i consider this movie as an victim. without Chinese government's "support", the box office will be much better.

the stories of Confucious are horrible, full of fake stuff. Confucius is THE most famous ideologist and educator in Chinese history. you can not see it in this movie. he is not a politician or militarist. However, it is very sad to see Confucius in this movie he is a politician and militarist, rather than an ideologist and educator. this will mislead so many people to recognize him, especially young people and non-Chinese.

the CG is horrible, too. you can see scenes of the movie are copied from other movies.

i am a Chinese. it is sad to see Confucius is deformed like this in order to cater somebody's taste.

Beautiful yet Uninspiring

[RobertLThorpe · 6/10 · 5 February 2013]

I love the Asian films and the epic sagas and so when I got ahold of this I watched it right away. I am disappointed in some aspects like story telling. For me instead of focusing on his entire life with much of it wandering they should of focused more on his dealings within LU. Much like IP MAN focused not on the entire story but on the war and IP MANs role during that time. THis film is beautiful to watch and some of the characters are fun but over all an un-inspiring tale of one of the most influential scholars of all time. The problem is the script, not the directing, performances or the photography. So if you plan on seeing this film be prepared to watch a rather long film with great photography, wonderful performances but fails in its lack of storytelling.

Covering a lot of ground

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 14 October 2012]

And I'm not only talking about the years this tries to put in here. It's over 2 hours, but of course those two hours could never be enough to capture every complexity or all of his teachings. One thing is for sure, as an established actor, you almost couldn't imagine anyone else playing that role. Not saying there aren't other talented guys (Tony Leung, Andy Lau and more), but it seems Chow Yun Fat was the right choice, because he is also known in the West (and because he can act too of course).

The story moves along nicely, we also get quite a few action scenes thrown our way. There is a lot of drama and also a few nice resolutions. Some of the teachings get shown and you can see that most people had great respect for the master back then too. Which of course makes it almost impossible to believe some of the things that happened to him. They seem to be very particular when it comes to dates, but I'm sure they were creative in the times in between. A nice little movie, but I think if you want to know more about him, you'd be better off reading a book.

One big C carries another

[najania · 7/10 · 1 August 2012]

Like Socrates, who was a near contemporary, Kongzi (Confucius) died without committing his own thought to writing - at least any that survived. It must be gleaned from the "Analects", which was probably put together within a century after his death and contains sayings of his, as his disciples remembered them. But the "Analects" often says nothing about their context. When and why were each of these aphorisms spoken? The film "Confucius" was conceived as an answer to this question.

"Confucius" is essentially a string of episodes that follow the chronological sequence of known events in the career of Confucius, which was certainly less than spectacular or successful on the surface. Each vignette is punctuated with certain aphorisms, and climaxes with one deemed particularly important. Some if not most of the episodes are purely products of the imagination (for example, the initial one that has Confucius harboring a human sacrifice fugitive, though the sage was said to be opposed to the practice). I didn't buy the context for the aphorism about the dearth of men who would rather pursue virtue than women, which was spoken in a somewhat diffident reply to the tempting consort of the king of Wei (played deliciously by the fetching Zhou Xun) and delivered with undue seriousness. I would have preferred to see it treated as a humorous yet thought-provoking one-liner, as it could also be rendered: "I never met a man who liked virtue as much as sex."

In the process of telling its story, the film tries to impart the basics of the sage's philosophy, which almost invariably ends up appearing insipid or ceremony-bound in textbooks. A good example is the key concepts of "li" and "ren", which are touched upon in the film. "Li" is usually translated "ceremony" or "etiquette", and "ren", something along the lines of "love of man", but both evade a firm grasp by the modern mind even with commentaries. In my understanding, Confucius devised nothing less than a social technology. He came to the conclusion that people and countries could prosper if they figured out how to manage every relationship properly. "Li" could be viewed as the codification of proper behavior in relationships - man & wife, ruler & subject, teacher & student, parent & child, etc. etc. And "ren", the infusion of "real feeling" that prevents "li" from devolving into stale and empty formality (as Confucianism as a whole eventually did). But such expositions are not amenable to the film medium in the first place, and the movie is not going to help out those who know nothing of the big C in this department.

Sprinkled into the blend now and then are spectacle-type interludes with CG works and warfare. I found these merely distracting. They serve to convey the troubled, war-torn times, I suppose, but that is thin grounds indeed for their admixture. I doubt the crowd hankering to see action is going to put "Confucius" on its must-see list anyway.

Despite the flaws, "Confucius" is a gallant attempt. It surely cannot be easy to make a flick about a philosopher or thinker in any culture - as opposed to Biblical characters whose wonder-working and fiery prophesies lend their stories to cinematic treatment. Confucius, in contrast, simply espoused a creed that was human-centered (for its time), divinity-free, non- violent, and low-key. Not much material for cinematizing there. Chow Yun-Fat absolutely carries the movie, and it is a real pleasure to watch the whole spectrum of emotions that cross his face over the course of the roughly two hours. I also liked the touches of ancient life - the music of zithers and bronze chimes, the costumes of nobles and commoners, the pottery, the oxcarts and chariots. Could have been even slower and more thought-focused as far as I am concerned. I came away regretting that director Hu Mei had not ventured a context for some of the more enigmatic sayings. I guess that means I was left wanting more - and that is saying something, too.

Dramatising a philosophy

[GwydionMW · 17 January 2011]

Confucius lived in violent times. He is shown reacting and taking moral stands, often putting himself at risk. And also suffering and losing, which makes it much more realistic. Probably it isn't accurate historically, but there is also not much solid detail about his life. (And no one can be sure if Lao Tzu even existed, never mind teaching Confucius, as is done here.) The man's sentiments have been somewhat modernized, but not unreasonably so. It does show what was positive about him, given the era he lived in.

The film begins with Confucius as an old man, thinking back. Then we see him in his early 50s, being promoted from Major to Minister for Law in his home state of Lu. He is confronted with ethical issues after saving a slave-boy who was due to be buried alive with his former master who has just died. The story then takes many twists and turns and remains interesting.

visually beautiful but I'm left a little perplexed

[nextlife · 7/10 · 2 January 2011]

Here in America Confucius is known mostly for all the sayings he was attributed for, and they mostly begin with " Confucius say..." I was really looking forward to seeing this movie and although I am now kind of shaking my head and wondering what actually happened in this movie I can't say that it was a total loss to have seen it. (Actually I own it) I could say that the best thing about this movie is the Faye Wong song at the end and the bonus video with her singing but that would not entirely be true.

If I knew nothing about Confucius and had seen this movie I would never know that all his sayings that are attributed to him ever existed. Sure he has a truckload of writings by the time he died but did the movie ever go into what he actually had written? Sadly, no.

It was a joy for me as an American to see the beautiful countryside, the scenery is magnificent.

There is no love story in this movie except the love his disciples have for him (and vice versa) and the love he and his disciples have for their country. Xun Xhou is gorgeous and mysterious but she is only in this film for mere minutes and then she is gone.

I don't even know how factual the events in this movie are. Do they follow a true history? I don't know, I was expecting to see more about his philosophy and all his writings and how they were so influential they still survive to this day.

I will watch it again because I probably missed something. I always watch the movie with the original spoken language and English subtitles, so sometimes maybe I was watching too much the subtitles and missing some subtle interactions between the characters.

I was not disappointed with the acting at all, I thought is was excellent.

And yes for Faye Wong fans the ending song is just as beautiful as she is.

A Nutshell Review: Confucius

[DICK STEEL · 5/10 · 31 March 2010]

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I had my expectations set on Confucius the film being a tale of the man himself, one of the greatest and earliest philosophers and thinkers that had vast influence over a number of ideologies today, including the system of ethical governance. The trailer had suggested that besides being a learned man, he's quite the military strategist as well, like a precursor to Zhuge Liang, which of course is way off the mark as far as I'm concerned.

It seems like director Hu Mei had been influenced by a number of war films set in Ancient China from Battle of Wits to Red Cliff, and had been inspired to do her own, even if it had to involve Confucius. Good thing though she didn't put the philosopher, played by Chow Yun- Fat, into a suit of armour, but rather, starts off the narrative focused on his ascension to enviable political positions starting with the Law Ministry, before being Acting Interior Minister for the state of Lu.

A tale of two parts, the first half danced along the narrative tread of political intrigue, with court official envy and being the favourite adviser of the ruler, laying the groundwork for some serious rivalry and treachery to be dished out, especially when a talk of alliance with another state goes awry, if not for a Plan B up in the sleeves to bail them out of trouble. But hold on, was Confucius ever a politician to begin with? I do not know, but it didn't matter much, as there were glimpses of how his mind ticked, with discussions of ideals and ideas with his disciples being some of the highlights that one would have come to the movie for.

The second half though, was a let down. Unappreciated and driven away, Confucius starts his self-exile, and together with a small group of dedicated disciples whom we know very little of save for their names and titles appearing on screen, and most given extremely limited screen time, they wander around the film from city to city, and very much echoed the sentiments of the viewer - when will they settle down and get themselves into some serious classroom teaching? It's a pity that this section of the film decided to focus on how frail and aged Confucius had become with the passing of time, but little more. Pacing seems a little hurried as well, especially when dealing with subplots involving his disciples, with resolution being only a few minutes after.

Even Zhou Xun's cannot save the show, as she's given a combined screen time of not more than 15 minutes thereabout to turn on her charm as the consort of a kingdom that Confucius and his disciples pass through. In other words, a flower-vase role that completely underutilized the talents of this wonderful actress. Chow Yun-Fat cuts an imposing figure of Confucius and probably had what it takes in the first section, before the weak storyline in the later half muted his performance as a senior citizen with major issues to address for himself and his disciples, the first being the basic theories of Maslow in getting food and shelter for his followers.

I figured I would have enjoyed a film about Confucius more if it had taken a more in depth look into his character, his inspiration, his influences (that goes just beyond the churning of learned disciples to execute their like-minded philosophies) and of course, having all these done more through the narrative scenes, rather than through inter-titles which tell a lot more than the film itself. I think one is better off digging out Confucius epics of old, than to watch this spruced by version with very fake looking CGI.

Interesting and gripping movie with a wonderful Chow Yun Fat

[karsan12345 · 9/10 · 6 February 2010]

There has been some commotion around this movie concerning whether it did or did not force Avatar from the 2D screens in China. So many IMDb-voters thought it necessary to vote a '1' for this movie without even seeing it.

It's a shame because it is a really good movie. I wasn't sure myself if a story around Confucius would be able to entertain me for 2 hours but it surely did! It's a fascinating and emotional story about the later years of Confucius, played by Hong Kong-actor Chow Yun Fat. It's shows the man behind the myth.

I was very impressed with Chow's acting. I knew he was a great actor but this role is another milestone in his career. His Confucius is warm and gentle and you really feel his emotions. For his performance alone this film is worth watching.

Beware: it might not be for the usual popcorn crowd, wanting to be entertained with lots of action and superficial story lines. It's an inspirational journey! Go see it!

Enjoyable but the subtitles are annoying! 6/10

[leonblackwood · 6/10 · 13 February 2016]

Review: Although this movie is full of fast subtitles, I really enjoyed this epic biopic about a man who stuck to his morals to the end. The acting is superb from Chow Yun Fat and the authentic scenery was brilliant. The only problem that I really found with the movie is that I lost the plot after a while. I didn't really know who was who and what they were fighting for. With that aside, I did get caught up with the emotional side of the movie and the relationships that Confucius had with his trusty disciples. Personally, I didn't know anything about Confucius before seeing this movie, so I was intrigued with his epic journey, from his early 50's until his death at 73 years old. The whole political side of the film, went way over my head but I was still able to enjoy the emotional journey. The director brought different elements to the project which will give you mixed emotions throughout the movie, so it definitely gets the thumbs up from me. Enjoyable!

Round-Up: This is the first international movie, written and directed by Mei Hu and she really did pick the ultimate legend to portray. As Confucius isn't worldwide known, this movie did go under the radar but Chow Yun Fat's popular name pulled in audiences. Its definitely a movie that I would watch again but I would need a dubbed version, so I wouldn't have to concentrate on the fast subtitles.

Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $18.6million

I recommend this movie to people who are into their biography/drama/history movies starring Chow Yun-Fat, Xun Zhou, Jianbin Chen and Quan Ren. 6/10

Dull

[dbborroughs · 4/10 · 31 January 2010]

Chow Yun-Fat left John Woo's epic Red Cliff, in part, to star in this biography of the great philosopher. The film is set up as a memory play of sorts with the great man looking back on his life.

I'm going to do something that really won't make any difference if you see the film, I'm going to tell you the whole plot. There is a reason for this so bear with me. Confucius is a commoner who rises to mayor of a town. He's so successful at using his philosophy to run the town he is sent up the ladder of success. However his achievements break with tradition and annoy the various ruling families (he has the gall to save a burial slave from being entombed alive). He also annoys the various rulers of the surrounding kingdoms by using his cleverness to win back lost territory without any violence. However he eventually he annoys his benefactor who sends him into exile. He then wanders about for many years before he he is allowed to return home where he assembles his book of wisdom.

See how exciting that paragraph was? Thats how exciting the film is as a whole. Yes there are some battle scenes and much great verbal sparring, but for the most part nothing much happens. Actually once he's turned out very little happens other than Confucius and his followers wander the country for years. They annoy the local leaders and are forced to move on while his philosophy takes hold. Its not unwatchable but it really makes you wonder why you're watching this or what made anyone think that this was going t be exciting to an audience. Its lots of "gee isn't the master great" and such. it get dull real fast. It doesn't help that the film is filled with subtitles to explain the where, the when and the who of events. Its not just at the start, where it's helpful to get things going, its all through the film and it makes the film feel as if its a shorter version of some huge epic tale. I kept wondering what I was missing, was something other than people sitting around thinking deep thoughts happening in a place just off the screen and if so why wasn't I there.

I'm picking on the film, and its really not fair since its not a bad movie, its just an over long and somewhat bland one. I'd wait to see this as a rental (I'd say wait for this to show up on cable but I doubt that will ever happen outside of Asia). Not a disaster, but on the other hand not really an exciting film after the first half hour or so.

Great Epic Biopic

[chicagopoetry · 8/10 · 15 March 2010]

Confucius, the story of the greatest educator of all time, is a beautifully shot, poetically told, spectacular historical epic biography that stands shoulder to shoulder with great movies such as The Ten Commandments or Ghandi. It is not Braveheart or Patton, since it is not filled with thrills and spills, but you don't watch The Last Emporor of Kundun for the action: you watch them for the splendor and the drama, and splendid drama Confucius certainly delivers. Chow Yun Fat achieves a command performance as the gentle commoner who uses his wit and wisdom to quickly rise up in political ranks only to be exiled for his outsider ideology. Chow Yun Fat has come a long way since his two fisted gunslinging John Woo days, and his decision to sacrifice another opportunity that would have made him part of a more popular project, in order to participate in this rich cinematic experience, demonstrates his high integrity and his love for his heritage. Like Spartacus or Ben Hur, this movie is colorful, gorgeous, engaging and huge. The costumes are as awe inspiring as those of Cleopatra, and the only thing it is missing is a thick font "Technicolor" at the end, because this film is so reminiscent of the great days of biopic film making. Yet some of the music and camera-work reminds of the history of low budget Chinese films as well, which adds to the nostalgia of Confucius and makes it a more fun to watch. Confucius is grand. If you love epic dramas, you won't want to miss it.

Interesting film, worth it for Chow Yun

[The_Celluloid_Sage · 7/10 · 6 April 2020]

Historical Chinese drama. You either like these or you don't, there's not much middle ground here. Personally I like this kind of film, though can understand why many would find the film slow and drawn out. Chow Yun-Fat is his usual charismatic self and lends a lot of weight to the film.

We follow Kong Zi (Yun-Fat) from his days of early teachings, his rise through the military ranks as an advisor and then as an outcast wandering the land struggling to survive with his followers, before finally returning home and being accepted. The film does borrow some scenes from other films and can be quite slow at times, but overall it keeps your interest.

Beautiful cinematography, score and good acting elevate the film over some other docu-dramas. As for historical accuracy, a lot seems to be on point, but as always with a film like this, I'm sure there is also plenty of embellishment. With that all said, still an interesting insight into the life and teachings of the Great Sage.

The Sage's Rating: 7/10

Ignoring its political controversy, it is just a bad film.

[olz_15 · 2/10 · 10 February 2010]

I was actually hoping it would be really good, and went into the cinema with nothing but optimism.

The first half an hour works. Chow Yun Fat is fantastic as Confucius, and while the plot seems a little clichéd, it at least entertains. The following hour seems to progressively get worse, and I found myself becoming impatient from watching Chow Yun Fat repeating the same motions, gestures, and facial expressions. It all becomes obvious that this "Confucius" is nothing but a 2 dimensional character. The action scenes in the latter half are largely irrelevant to the plot and rely too much on poorly executed CGI. The other characters are practically caricatures, including the disciple who is always sleeping from overdrinking - a running joke that by the end of the film became just plain annoying. Finally, the syrupy overdose of sentimentality near the conclusion is not for from vomit-inducing. What a train-wreck! What pains me so much about this film is that it could have been amazing. Think a Tarkovsky-esquire odyssey through the chaotic era of Confucius... Or at the very least an entertaining popcorn flick. But it is neither. It is just a very bad film.

I'm giving it 2/10 simply for the opening and Chow Yun Fat's brilliant acting that unfortunately was at total odds with the rest of the filmmakers total incompetence.

Lean melodrama

[harry_tk_yung · 28 January 2010]

"Lean" here is used as a compliment, meaning not stuffed with the trashy garbage that plagued Zheng Yimou's "Curse of the golden flower" (2006).

This biopic permeates a feeling of sincerity on the part of the movie makers to tell a story in a simple, old-fashion manner. Indeed there are set pieces that look a little contrived with the purpose to impress, but overall, this is a solid piece of movie-making. As to the question of historic accuracy, I am in no position to comment.

Roughly in three parts, the first comprises the establishing scenes on the background of Confucius's "political" days when he looks a lot more like master military strategist Zhuge Liang in John Woo's "Red Cliff" (2008) than the iconic teacher that has shaped the cultural-philosophical history of China. At the middle is the action show piece of a famous battle he engineers, certainly well made but not particularly memorable, with so many spectacular movies that went before. The final part tells how exiled from his homeland by the warlord he well served, Confucius embarks upon the part of his life with which most people identify him, a teacher followed by a group of loyal students, in a way actually not unlike Jesus of Nazareth.

CHOW Yun-fat is always a fascinating actor to watch. His distant relative ZHOU Xun (exactly the same Chinese surname, but spelled with different dialects) is of course the darling of today's Chinese movie screen, but unfortunately has an almost cameo appearance. Overall, this movie will earn your respect with the serious, solid effort from all concerned, but not capture your heart with anything particularly brilliant. Good historic biopic melodrama – that's about it.

Don't confuse movies with Confucius

[g-89622 · 7/10 · 7 November 2021]

The story of "Confucius" is not a biography of a saint. In the end, it is a story about self-identity. "The relationship between Confucius's disciples and Confucius" and "Zi Jian Nan Zi" are the two major parts of "Confucius". Both the students and the Nanzi are among the few Confucius "friends" at that time. The tragic is not only the confidant, but the ending of the confidant, the death of the dead, the injury of the injury, all of them end in sorrow. In the movie, Confucius has a great ambition and hopes to change the situation by himself. But what greeted him was the wind and food that followed, the displacement, the dog who was almost lost, and the idealism was to be hollowed out. The film seems to depict the discouragement and helplessness of an idealistic loser. In fact, it describes another "suddenly open and bright": to end his life with "preaching and teaching doubts" and to "do something" with "inaction". After the death of Confucius, Bao Dejun's lens was explored out of the window. A calm and calm picture is complementing this mentality. Always liked Chow Yun Fat, but this film is quite a failure. The image is a bit too fat, and there is always a hint of demon light between the eyebrows (not the light of wisdom).

worth seeing, but ...

[deschreiber · 6/10 · 18 April 2012]

So how much do you know about the life of Confucius? Probably next to nothing, so any decent film on the topic will have lots to teach you. This one has excellent production values, lots of lavish sets, period costumes, battles, cgi eye-candy. Because it was made in China, with the Chinese government involved, we can be assume that no great liberties were taken with the historical record and that clothes, customs, furniture and such are accurate. This is enough to recommend seeing it.

On the level of entertainment, it has several drawbacks. For viewers who do not know their ancient Chinese history, it sometimes becomes confusing trying to keep track of the various kingdoms at war or in alliance with each other, and of some of the ranks of civil servants in order to understand who is supposed to obey whom. When a face appeared on screen, I might have known that I had seen him before, but I was not always sure which kingdom he belonged to and what authority he held.

While I would not have wanted some trumped-up romantic interest added to the film, I did miss seeing and hearing from the women of the time.

I wonder if a mistake wasn't in trying to cover the entire life of Confucius? I suppose that's what a biopic is supposed to do, but I couldn't help thinking of how Shakespeare built his dramas around one major incident in the life of his protagonists. It keeps the story tighter and more intense, and easier to follow.

I was quite surprised at how little we learned of the teachings of Confucius. That was what he lived for, that is why his name has come down through the centuries to us. Several comments are made about his wanting to see "civility" in public life, and one or two aphorism are given, but it would have been much more satisfying to have been given an overview of his essential teachings.

Interesting but not a lot of teachings of Confucius

[badajoz-1 · 5/10 · 29 April 2011]

An interesting look at the life of someone everybody thinks they know, but , in fact, know very little about. In and around 500BC, in a small kingdom within China, lived a man whose teachings and philosophy have underpinned Chinese thoughts for millenia - well, that's what they say, but Mao must have forgotten to read it, or subverted the bits about dictators and oppressors! There is action in the first half, but the second half drags as the hero wanders around China in exile - presumably most Chinese would be aware of the stories and events depicted, but they do not grab the audience particularly. Chow Yun Fat acts tremendously well, but is hamstrung by the saintliness of the depiction. In fact, much of the film reminded me of a cross between 'El Cid' and 'King of Kings' as a man battles with his beliefs in a time of great strife and trouble. Certainly it portrays a lot of Christian teaching without the deification element in Western culture. But we do not learn really enough about why he became so influential, and why his teaching was so radical. Guess I'll have to look on Wikipedia!

An Epic That Needs A Wider Audience

[chrisemmins · 8/10 · 30 September 2010]

Many people that write on here about films such of this almost have too 'expert' a view. As has been said elsewhere, it is a real epic and the performance by Chow Yun Fat is exceptional. Whilst there is always going to be debate about accuracy, style and even politics about such a film, for lovers of sumptuously shot cinema and outstanding acting, it will be a joy to watch and will open up Confucius the man to many more people. It is actually being widely released in the UK on DVD and Blu Ray on Monday 4th October on the Cine-Asia label, so will be really interesting to see what a much wider audience makes of it. Personally, I think that people will appreciate its quality and see it for what it is - a very well made historical epic movie.

WHY, what happened here ?

[gonzofaratro · 3/10 · 22 May 2015]

I so much was looking forward to this film, and to be fair, the visuals are great, the photography is fantastic and it COULD have been a good film but instead of making the right choices the director chose a soap opera approach.

Never seen so many guys crying in a film, some many women in tears. It bothers after a while that every time something is said everyone must cry. And to complement this natural disaster, the music. Every tear was in sync with cheese violins and last century broken heart melody. A cinematic soap opera at its worst Approach with caution, you have been warned.

Pity, such a waste

Stunning, gripping & intense epic story!!

[BronzeKeilani26 · 10/10 · 11 March 2010]

I came inches close to missing this gorgeous epic tale & cannot understand how few posters could feel negative. Unless they're not fans of Asian films or fake posters with motives against the film's makers? But I am so glad I decided not to believe their reviews. First of all, Yun Fat Chow is not going to turn down a major role in Red Cliff to be in another bio-story type film not just as amazing. And this film was far from long & drawn out. If you're a fan of most popular Chinese epic films than you'll love this! Every camera shot was gorgeous as with the costumes. It's rare to find present epic Asian films that aren't tastefully shot anyway. The color was stunning, and the interpretation of the classic tale was unique with plots that never disappoint. Xun Zhou was as beautiful & cunning as she was in Painted Skin which I watched 4 x's, lol. With all the characters, the actors each held such a powerful presence. It's very tough to develop any character singularly while you have so many important characters with their own mythos and chronicles, but each actor really held up professionally! The amazing battle sequences & periods of war were not drawn out(thank God). And formations, strategies & clever weapons take centerstage in the first major confrontation with Confucius advising the King.

Confucious is a solid film that is both a mega blockbuster and quality film-making--------One of the best films ever...epic, complex, realistic, emotionally engaging and unforgettable

Absolutely Rabbish

[gotmail52 · 1/10 · 25 February 2010]

When I watched this movie, many thoughts came to my mind, one particular was life is too short, so I stood up and walked out the cinema. What is the point of making this movie? The cast is awful, The scenery is dreary, and there is no plot in this movie. It is just a old man travel around countries and beg for a living. It was not an honest portrait of the ancient China nor was it a very good modern movie, all it was is a two hour long crap which frankly I don't have time to waste on. This is essentially the problem with the entertainment industry in China, it fills up our screen with boring TV shows about ancient history, the sad story of a random character in the rural region or fake news about how economically accomplished we are. The only reason why I bought the ticket is because there is nothing else left for me to see.

Judge Judy vs. Confucius

[dontspamme-11 · 5 March 2010]

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.

An Idiots Controversy

[belurges · 3/10 · 28 March 2010]

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!"

Stunned by the low ratings!

[lyx-1 · 10/10 · 9 January 2011]

I didn't watch this epic film for the longest time because of the low ratings and bad reviews about how boring, unexciting, etc. it is.

I was also skeptical about Chow Yun Fat as Confucius, but it did work somehow, although I suspect there could have been better actors, though not as famous.

However, after seeing Faye Wong's mv for the end song with the scenes form the film, it finally piqued my interest and was I glad I didn't miss this gem after all! It tries to stay close to the historic tales and records in describing Confucius' life, so it could come across as lacking in CGI action, but I think it helps rather than hurts the film.

I MUCH prefer this epic to Red Cliff, the dialogue is much more intelligent and believable, and the acting is much better. It also dispenses with clichés that John Woo is fond of, with the exception of a couple of scenes.

As it is a biopic, there isn't much of Confucius' teachings depicted, but more about political unrest and intrigues.

Don't over analyze this - sit back and enjoy a great historic epic with beautifully created CGI scenes.

It is much more enjoyable than what its solemn subject matter would suggest.