영화와 연극의 크로스오버

Crossover of Film and Play: The Banquet vs. Hamlet

This paper is a crossover study of the Chinese film The Banquet, adapted and directed by Feng Xiaogang, and Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The director reorganizes the film as a wuxia- a swordplay epic set during the Tang Dynasty, incorporating the theme of desire from Hamlet, where he has included many dramatic elements such as music, dance, masks, and ‘a play within the play,’ etc. In fact, the media technology of the film, unlike the theatrical performances which have limitations, can intensely and spectacularly expresses bloodshed, revenge, or the inner desire of humans. For this reason, this paper traces the visual images in the film comparing them with the dramatic elements of the tragedy. In addition, it examines the characters’ extreme and endless desire from the perspective of Rene Girard’s theory. Consequently, this study may provide important meaning hidden in ambiguous endings, making us consider the dangerous relationships between mimetic desire and violence.