I’ve spent a little more time with the beginners’ lessons on ChinesePod, which confirms my view that my spoken Chinese, grammar and ability to read pinyin are all way ahead of my Hanzi. I need to keep working on that. After doing that, I watched Confucius, written and directed by Mei Hu (2010). It was great! The story of Confucius’s life is involved, even when simplified for the big screen, and I might watch it one more time to properly understand the train of events that take place between the warring kingdoms that by turn employ him as a political adviser and then drive him into exile. It’s visually spectacular. I didn’t know it was going to be so gorgeous.

The costumes are breathtaking.

The architecture is impressive.

There are big landscapes.

And the battle scenes are absolutely epic. Here a castle is being defended by cauldrons of oil which are lit on fire and then poured down the sloping walls of the castle to consume the invaders.

All in all, a much more thrilling and spectacular movie than I anticipated. I was pleased that I could understand occasional words in the Mandarin dialogue. I might make a point of trying to watch Chinese language films regularly. It’s more fun to hear people say dramatic things than it is to listen to ‘learn Chinese’ recorded lessons where all anyone ever talks about is ordering noodles and directions to the airport.