‘Don Quixote’ in the Chinese cinema: ‘Biography of a magical knight swordsman: Tang Ji Ke De’ (A Gan, 2010)

Abstract

The rapid development of Chinese film industry, together with the need to internationalise its productions, has led to the adaptation of one of the best-known foreign literary works: Don Quixote. By means of diverse qualitative methods, the article analyses and explores Don Quixote (A Gan, 2010), the only movie version of this classic existing in China to date. Theses’ version special feature is the free reinterpretation of the story, which proposes a fusion of cultural references by the sinicisation of this literary work and the incorporation of influences from Spanish modern culture. Specifically, in the sinicization process Don Quixote gets connected to the wuxia literature and the historical context of Tang Dynasty, proposing an unprecedented scenario for the adaptation of this universal classic. Moreover, the movie presents an aesthetic and commercial dimension without precedent of Don Quixote because it is constituted as a great 3D production, full of visual effects and animation fragments.