The trailer for Chow Yun Fat’s next project, Confucius, recently hit the internet, and it’s gathered quite a bit of attention. The trailer forgoes dialog completely, and instead we’re treated to three minutes of gorgeously shot epic scenes, all set to a somber soundtrack. The film is directed by Mei Hu, a director I’m not at all familiar with, but apparently she’s trusted enough to handle a ~$20 million epic. The film was developed in part with the Chinese government, and is part of an initiative to promote the philosophy of Confucius.

After the abomination that was Dragonball Evolution, it’s nice to see Chow Yun Fat in a respectable film once again (I’m also amped to check him out in Mikael Hafstrom’s new film Shanghai). I’m hoping that this ends up better than his last epic, Curse of the Golden Flower—how Zhang Yimou screwed that film up is beyond me. Watching this trailer also reminds me of what John Woo’s Red Cliff could have been like if we got to see Chow and Tony Leung mix things up once again.

Don’t expect any surprises from this film. Being a government project about one of the most revered philosophical figures in China, I don’t expect that Mei Hu will be able to take many risks with the material. (For another example of Chinese governmental influence on film, consider the ending of Hero). It’ll still probably be worth watching for the Chow factor alone.

View the trailer below:

Via Quiet Earth