If only big-budget American movies can be this good.

Last night we went to a screening of The Banquet, which opened the New York Asian Film Festival. Billed as the Chinese Hamlet, it stars Zhang Ziyi as the younger, ass-kicking version of Gertrude and Daniel Wu as the crowned prince. The story is set in 907 A.D, complete with period costumes, swords, and martial arts choreography by Yuen Wo-ping, who also worked on Crouching Tiger and Kill Bill. As is expected, much blood is shed in an artsy way.

I haven't read Hamlet since 12th-grade English, and have pretty much forgotten the storyline other than it has something to do with revenge and poison. But there's really no need to read the Clif notes before seeing the film. There are enough ingenius cuts and balletic slow-mo violence to appeal to both action-lovers and aesthetes. The climax, taking place at a lavish banquet, appropriately enough, goes from one heart-stopping surprise to the next without missing a beat. Remembering how Shakespeare's story actually went would probably have made the movie less exciting.