The Emperor And The Assassin (1999)

History is often shaped by a few ruthless decisions, and the people closest to power usually pay the steepest price. Chen Kaige's ambitious historical epic "The Emperor and the Assassin" is more a grand tableau than an intimate drama. It re-creates the rise of Ying Zheng (Li Xuejian), the king of Qin who united China in 221 B.C. and became its first emperor. Chen sets out to show the violent, decisive acts that shape history, and the story eventually pits Ying Zheng against his childhood love, Lady Zhao (Gong Li, who remains striking even after her character is branded), and Jing Ke (Zhang Fengyi), a reluctant assassin she recruits as part of a scheme that turns against the king. Chen also appears as the powerful chancellor Lü Buwei. Divided into five acts and unfolding at a stately, measured pace, the film never lets you forget you're watching History with a capital H, and its dialogue is fittingly distant and formal. Its saving graces are its intense, gripping battle scenes and the remarkable historical detail that fills every frame. It's in Mandarin.