Build a movie plot around this: Who plays the emperor? Chow Yun-fat
The plot is based on Cao Yu's 1934 play Thunderstorm ( pinyin: Lei Yu), but is set in the royal court of a certain dynasty in ancient China. On the eve of the Chong Yang Festival, golden chrysanthemum flowers fill the Imperial Palace. The Emperor (Chow Yun Fat) returns from his various military campaigns with his second son and general, Prince Jai (Jay Chou). It is hinted in their brief but intense sparring session, that Jai has grown resentful towards his father and his controlling ways. However the Emperor is not afraid to warn the Prince of his past mistakes and that he shouldn't take anything of the Emperor's that is not given to him. The Emperor's pretext is to celebrate the holiday with his family, but given the chilled relations between the Emperor and the ailing Empress (Gong Li), this seems disingenuous. For many years, the Empress and Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye), her stepson, have had an illicit liaison. Feeling trapped, Prince Wan dreams of escaping the palace with his secret lover Jiang Chan (Li Man), the Imperial Doctor's daughter. Meanwhile, Prince Jai, the faithful son, grows curious and then worried over the Empress's health and her abnormal obsession with golden chrysanthemums. Wan agrees but the younger son, Yu seems oblivious to the matter and does not question it further.The family reunites over the chrysanthemum terrace in which Wan's request to explore the frontier is denied by the emperor, along with Yu's request to command the imperial guard. It is decided that Jai will take that responsibility. It is shown that no one cares or really sees the youngest son Yu, and he is quietly dismissed. It is then shown that the Empress had failed to take her full dose of medicine at a required hour. The Emperor commands she take the full dose. The Empress refuses, knowing that something is not right. The Emperor instead commands the sons to make her take her dose to which she begrudgingly acquiesces after much coaxing from Wan and Yu. Jai also begins to sense that something is afoot.For ten days, the...