Meanwhile, Tian’s men invade the city and deploy umbrellas made out of semicircular blades of iron (an element that’s associated with men), allowing them to be used not only as weapons but also, in the feature’s single most stunning image, as coracles. ![]() ![]() In a one-on-one fight, Yu’s decoy faces General Yang on a raised bamboo platform in a river gorge straight out of an ink drawing. The most spectacular setpiece is the siege of the city of Jing. ![]() With formidable black rock formations and with the tai chi diagram on the floor in black and white stones as a backdrop, the clash unfolds with the agility and grace familiar from Zhang’s wuxia films.Īs the story unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear that Yu is orchestrating a complex plan that involves not only his own decoy - referred to as a “shadow” in Chinese - but also the king and the mysterious Captain Tian (Wang Qianyuan), who controls an army of misfits. It takes over 30 minutes before we get a brief first fight in the commander’s hiding place, only reachable through a secret passageway from the palace. Zhang takes his time to sketch the background and political context and to introduce the characters, which makes the early going a surprisingly talky affair. That said, their wishes and desires, such as the fact Madam seems more enamored of Jing - a passionate kiss is as elaborately choreographed as any fight scene - than her real husband, do add texture and narrative tension. Unlike in a lot of the films of Zhang, who has discovered actresses such as Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi, the women here are not the leads and do not seem to control their own destiny. Like the fate of Yu’s wife, the tragedy of the princess is one that is expressed mostly in looks and gestures. Hoping to establish a truce and regain some influence, the sovereign offers the hand of his beautiful sister (Guan Xiaotong) to Ping, though this is against her will. Politically, the Pei Kingdom finds itself in a very difficult position, as foreign forces have occupied the city of Jing and the kingdom’s frosty relations with General Yang (Hu Jun) and his son Ping (Leo Wu), who control the stronghold, could tip over into war. In a tense early scene that only makes sense a little later on, the ruler risks finding out when he commands “Yu” to play the zither, which is impossible because Jing might look like Yu, but unlike the latter, he can’t play the ancient instrument. ![]() By employing a body double, the Pei Kingdom won’t show any outward signs of weakness, though apart from Jing and from Yu’s own wife, referred to only as Madam (Sun Li), no one knows about the switch, not even Pei’s young king (Zheng Kai). After having been so badly hurt in battle that he has to retreat into the shadows so as not to show his physical failings, Commander Yu entrusts his job to Jing (also played by Deng), a lookalike in perfect health who is indebted to him and who is named after a city lost to a foreign army. The script, based on a previous screenplay by Zhu Sujin and credited to Li Wei and the director, reimagines a small part of the Three Kingdoms epic as the story of the cunning military commander Yu (Deng Chao) of the Pei Kingdom.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |