The style
director Guan Hu (Cow, Design of Death) uses in The Chef, The Actor, and The Scoundrel
reminded me of Baz Luhrman’s early films, utilizing the over-exaggerated style
of Peking opera and silent Chinese cinema for slapstick humor and visual
hyperactivity. This appears to be an over-indulgence of style, but as the film
continues the plot reveals reasons for these choices. I found myself going from
irritation at the film’s over-acting and forced comedy to a complete shift in
my opinion and appreciation of Hu’s choices.
This surprising
shift in expectations is a major part of the film, as nearly every fifteen
minutes provides some sort of plot twist. There are flashbacks which constantly
reveal that there is more going on than originally shown. In effect, this is a
simple story which is layered in a complex manner. It takes place nearly
entirely at one location over the course of a few days, apparently borrowing
its storyline from some true events from World War II.
The opening of
the film gives us the historical background necessary, though it is done in
such a way that suggests we may be about to watch a comic-book or
science-fiction film rather than a story based on true events. During World War
II there was a cholera epidemic in Beijing
There is a lot
going on in this film, and not all of it works, but I have to give Hu credit
for creativity. There may be a few too many twists and some painful-to-watch
intentionally bad over-acting, but The Chef, The Actor, and The Scoundrel works
far better than I ever would have imagined a historical dark slapstick comedy
could. The Blu-ray release includes a making-of featurette, as well as a
blooper reel and international trailer.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
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