Confucius

2010

2 hr. 5 min.

Biography

Drama

List

45%

11 Reviews

Tomatometer

38%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

The life story of the Chinese philosopher.

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Liam D

A good but long telling This Drama is a fine movie but a bit to much wondering

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/30/21

Full Review

Audience Member

I was very impressed with the movie direction and acting of Chow Yun, particularly when he shows he is grateful to be back in his kingdom after he lost everything, his main disciple, and was without bitterness. The strength of his character comes through really well. The other take-away is how much he accomplished through the suffering, which may not be the case otherwise and he would have been not as well known. The story depicted in the movie may not match what has been documented. But that does not matter, and the movie is well made.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A mixed bag. Mostly a bunch of crap happening that you are barely following. The best thing is Peter Pau's cinematography. I just think we could've gotten a better movie than this devoted to Confucius.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The tyranny within these walls put tigers to shame. The Chinese eastern philosopher, Confucius, is banned from his home city due to his beliefs and direction. He bands with another dynasty and helps defend a city from an invading tyrant. He hopes to restore his city's trust and one day return. Meanwhile, as he defends the city, he discovers those inside may be no more worthy of the city and its walls than those trying to invade. "In times of war we need generals. In time of trouble we need thinkers." Mei Hu, director of Army Nurse and On the Other Side of the Bridge, delivers Confucius. The storyline for this picture is well paced and contains a nice mix of action and character interaction with interesting dialogue. The acting is above average and the cast includes Chow Yun-Fat and Xun Zhou. "A diligent student needs no teacher." I came across this on Netflix and thought the premise and main character had potential. This was interesting and worth watching, but wasn't as good as similar films like Ip Man, Hero, and House of the Flying Daggers. Overall, I recommend seeing this if you're a fan of the genre but I wouldn't add it to my DVD collection. "Every great achievement is balanced by a great loss." Grade: C+

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

don s

Lavish cinematography is the highlight of this movie. It is difficult to bring a philosopher's life to screen and make it interesting. He doesn't do much but think and teach. The war scenes are CGI, with the participants looking more like ants than people in the long shots. Yun-Fat gives his usual professional performance. It is too long - they could have had less scenes from the wandering years. Again, the colors and locations make it worth your time.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Mei Hu

Director

Chow Yun-Fat

Confucius

Xun Zhou

Nan Zi

Yi Lu

Actor

Jianbin Chen

Actor

Huang Jiao

Actor

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Derek Malcolm

London Evening Standard

Chow Yun-fat plays the philosopher with dignified aplomb; otherwise, we rely on action as much as words, and never learn enough about the man.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 29, 2010

Full Review

Tom Seymour

Little White Lies

For its faults and excesses, Confucius may be the trickle that turns into a flood. Western audiences will learn to love it. They will have little choice.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 24, 2010

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Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

The ancient Chinese philosopher, he say Chow Yun-Fat no good at playing him, no good at all, in this painfully dreary epic biopic.

Rated: 1/5

Sep 23, 2010

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Don Groves

sbs.com.au

Chow Yun-fat fails to inspire as Chinese philosopher.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 7, 2011

Full Review

Martin Roberts

Fan The Fire

The narrative feels unfocused at times and the pace is changeable, but give it a chance and the presence of Chow Yun-Fat, at least, will win you over.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 13, 2010

Full Review

Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

This ambitious biopic feels chopped down from something much longer, as it leaps through the story without giving us much to engage with.

Rated: 2.5/5

Sep 29, 2010

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Synopsis

The life story of the Chinese philosopher.

Director: Mei Hu
Screenwriter: Chan Hon, Mei Hu, Qitao Jiang, Yanjiang He
Production Co: Beijing Dadi Century Limited, China Film
Genre: Biography, Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 27, 2012

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