Confucius (2010)

"Helping others is a measure of bravery"

Director Hu Mei attempted to tell around two decades of the life of Confucius. My knowledge of the great sage is extremely limited so I won’t be the person to determine if this depiction is historically correct. As a work of art, it let me down. I’m no stranger to documentaries, but even documentaries often pick a specific lens to view historical times and people through. Hu Mei tried to cram as many people and events as she could into two hours which gave little time or attention to each, especially the titular character.

Confucius is called upon by the ruler of Lu to become a minister. Three aristocratic families hold much of the power and Confucius is asked to unite the land and decrease their power. Eventually, he is encouraged to leave. Confucius and his disciples wander through the neighboring countries, often driven out, until he’s finally invited back home.

I once read a book that continually added characters as the main characters went on their quest. It came across as “and then, and then and then…” which is how this story felt. Deaths and setbacks evoked no emotion because I rarely remembered who they were. Confucius’ wife and daughter made very brief appearances. As if to make sure the world had at least one woman in it, Zhou Xun was thrown in for a few minutes as a Wei concubine reviled for having too much power. Darn women!

These are the hardest reviews for me to write. Confucius wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. I had truly looked forward to this film and was prepared for it to be slow. Slow I can handle, boring and crammed with mostly nameless characters is another matter. There were a few very quick battle scenes with terrible CGI, making the sage for the ages more of a military mastermind. Perhaps if the story’s focus had been narrowed, Confucius’ life and contributions could have been enhanced instead of watching him continually run from pillar to post.

15 September 2025
Triggers: Cockfighting. I really hope no horses were harmed in an early sacrificial funeral scene.

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