Shadow

影
2018 | 张艺谋 (Zhang Yimou)

Facing unrelenting wars and internal power struggles, Chinese kings and nobles faced the constant threat of assassination. To survive, the secretly employed surrogates know as “shadows”. — Shadows served their masters by bravely risking their lives, and proved their loyalty by embracing death. Absent from the annals of history, they lived their lives in obscurity and vanished without a trace.

The film reimagines a part of the “Three Kingdoms” saga of Chinese legend. Twenty years ago, Pei kingdom lost the city of Jingzhou to Yang kingdom. Commander 子虞 (Ziyu, portrayed by 邓超 Deng Chao) was once defeated by 杨苍 (Yang Cang, portrayed by 杨苍 Hu Jun)

King of Pei (portrayed by 郑恺 Zheng Kai) is infuriated when he discovers that his commander has challenged Yang Cang for a duel rematch without his permission. He fears that it will lead to a war between the two kingdoms.

But this Commander Ziyu isn’t the real Commander, he is a shadow named Jingzhou (also portrayed by 邓超 Deng Chao). He has been trained and kept in secret for more than 20 years. He is now a part of the grand scheme planned by the real Commander Ziyu. Ziyu makes a promise to set Jingzhou free, so he can return home to his real mother when he completes the mission.

King of Pei doesn’t want war, so he send his advisor to make a proposal to Yang offering his younger sister (portrayed by 关晓彤 Guan Xiaotong) to marry Yang’s son. Then the king demotes Commander Ziyu to a commoner as a punishment for disobedience.

Jingzhou has been training with Ziyu to find a way to defeat Yang Cang which is almost an impossible task. With advice from Madam (portrayed by 孙俪 Sun Li), they successfully learn a trick that potentially could help Jingzhou to win. But Jingzhou is in fact just a pawn in Ziyu’s grand plan.

This film is mesmerizing and visually stunning. Every frame is meticulously choreographed. It probably is one of the best of Zhang Yimou’s films since 英雄 (Hero) back in 2002, and definitely is one of the best martial arts films I’ve ever seen.