Feng Xiaogang's "The Banquet" (video preview)

Those in the know are telling me this year's movie to wait for from China is "The Banquet," directed Feng Xiaogang (who I'm not familiar with but seems to be a biug name over there). Like most of the big deal Chinese films of the last few years, it's a martial arts period piece (adapted from Hamlet) with action choreography by the mighty Yuen Woo-Ping.. The stars include Zhang Ziyi and Daniel Wu, two of the dopest.. A preview clip is here, and some details below:

During an interview with a TV program, director Feng Xiaogang reviewed several differences between The Banquet and Hamlet. He said the storyline of The Banquet was similar to that of Hamlet but it would not show any visit from a spirit of the dead. Zhang Ziyi's character was once in love with the crown prince, played by Daniel Wu, and was forced to marry the emperor. When his brother (Ge You) murdered the emperor and took control of his thrown and his young empress, the crown prince begin to revenge.

This project is now in post-production and the release date in China has been aimed at this fall. The production studios, Beijing based HTF and Hong Kong based Media Asia are thinking about pushing it to next year's Oscar. According to an earlier report, a 20-minute trailer would be shown during the coming Cannes Film Festival and special screenings at Toronto International Film Festival and Venice International Film Festival this September were also planned.