Delicately flirting with eroticism, the animated film The Banquet of the Concubine, by young Chinese director Hefang Wei, recounts one of the most famous love stories of Imperial China. In this tale of bitter jealousy, nothing can sweeten the heart of an abandoned mistress, not even the luscious lychee.
Direction
Wei compresses an empire's worth of tragedy into thirteen breathless minutes.
Cinematography
Every frame looks like a silk scroll that wants to strangle you.
Sound
The silence is so loud you'll check your speakers.
Director
Hefang Wei
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on the real Yang Guifei legend, but flips the narrative from tragic beloved to bitter rival.
Wei's use of traditional gongbi painting style for erotic horror subverts centuries of 'elegant' feminine suffering in Chinese art.
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