Empire of Silver (白銀帝國) is a 2009 film out of China. The movie stars Aaron Kwok, Zhang Tielin, and Hao Lei.
The movie is based on the Shanxi bankers roughly 100-110 years ago in China. Nicknamed the "Wall Street of China". The Kang family are influential bankers headquartered in Shanxi. They have branches all over the eastern part of China. Beijin, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Fujian are mentioned branches. The Kang family is run by the elder Kang, played by Zhang Tielin. Elder Kang has 4 sons. The first is deaf and mute. The second is brash and hot headed. The third drowns himself in alcohol. The fourth goes crazy when his wife is abducted, raped, and commits suicide.
The third son (老三) is played by Aaron Kwok. 老三 is secretly in love with his step mother. The back story to their secret love and how she became 老三's step mother is throughly explored.
The story also covers the turbulent times of China from 1899-1910. In this case, it was the banking industry of China. Where silver taels have been the common currency of China. And than a switch to paper. And than the fall of the Qin dynasty.
The movie was visually very impressive. From the desert to the mountains, to the Shanghai, to the compounds of Shanxi, I was awestruck. Movies like this enhance the beauty of China in my mind.
It was also a very slow moving film. The film present 3 very heavy subject matters. The first is coming to grips with traditions handed down to you. The second is the freedom to search for love. The third is ethics in business. In all three areas, 老三 was the focus in relation to the others around him.
Aaron gives a strong performance. Hao Lei is a beauty to behold. This film is worth a watch if you want to think and see a slice of history.
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