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Empire of Silver Review

 
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EMPIRE-OF-SILVER-TITLE-620x250
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At A Glance...
 

Genre: , , ,
 
Director:
 
Actor: ,
 
Length: 113m
 
Release Date: 2009
 
Final Score
 
 
 
 
 
3/ 5


User Rating
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We liked?


Wonderful Scenes
Excellent Cinematography

Not so much?


Convoluted side plots


Final Fiendish Findings?

Empire of Silver follows the story of a father and his son who run a prominent bank in China at the turn of the 20th century. While the father does have 4 sons, the other 3 only seem to be there to build the tension and to act as plot lines in the molding of […]

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Posted May 8, 2013 by

 
Full Fiendish Findings?
 
 

Empire of Silver follows the story of a father and his son who run a prominent bank in China at the turn of the 20th century. While the father does have 4 sons, the other 3 only seem to be there to build the tension and to act as plot lines in the molding of the relationship of the father and the Third Master. You don’t ever hear the son’s names, they are just referred to by their order in the family as being First through Fourth Master.

The First Master is apparently unable to take over the business due to being a deaf mute. The Second Master is the subject of a freak accident where he becomes paralyzed as he’s thrown from his horse while he’s trying to attempt to help find the Fourth Master’s new wife who has been kidnapped. The Fourth Master falls into a distraught madness after his kidnapped wife is found having committed suicide. This just leaves the Third Master who is at odds with his father’s manipulative ways to keep the family bank going.

If that sounds like a bit overly convoluted way to build the character’s a supporting backstory to their relationship, that would be because it is. None of it really feels necessary and doesn’t really add much to the story. It’s just a way to fill up 40 minutes and introduce characters that don’t come into play for the remainder of the movie.

Beyond that point, the story kind of meanders across other plots that don’t seem to add much or, in some cases, just leave unresolved plots. The lack of focus makes for an almost frustratingly confusing story. The main plot with the relationship struggle between the father and the son is strong enough that it would have worked fine without a lot of this extra fluff and made for a better movie.

That isn’t to say Empire of Silver was all bad. The movie is filled with gorgeous scenes of a country and civilization that’s woven with history and tradition. Those scenes put on display by some striking cinematography that make this an impressive looking film.

I sometimes have trouble judging the acting in foreign films since I don’t speak the language and I spend a lot of time concentrating on the subtitles but it’s still usually easy to pick out extraordinary performances on either the great or terrible spectrum. While none of them really stuck out as being particularly grand, we were graced with a Jennifer Tilly performance that really did not fit her. She stuck out like a sore thumb. Some actors just don’t have the range to pull off any role and Tilly is one of those actors.

Overall, the impressive scenery and cinematography didn’t quite make up for the story that seemed to lack focus in Empire of Silver. This is the type of film that I tend to really enjoy, but it fell it a bit short of my expectations. This really feels like one of those movies where the book was better. While it isn’t something I think viewers would regret seeing, it doesn’t rank better than an average film for me.


Anthony

 
I've been a game enthusiast since my 2600 enjoying RPG, platformer and adventure games. Also a film buff who enjoys quirky, indie films and a huge Hitchcock fan.


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