Its another patriotic movie from famous Director Zhang Yimou. Rich cinematography and fast paced; but with a totally improbable conspiracy.
The title comes from the famous historical poem Man Jiang Hong. A call to arms to repel barbarian invaders and restore the Chinese Empire. An interesting choice of themes in these days of Russian-Chinese-American confrontation.
Anyway, a group of patriots attempt to uncover the Southern Song's prime minister as a secret Jin collaborator. They go about it in a crazy process of sacrificing each other in order to get closer to the suspect prime minister.
The letter from the Jin king is a red herring, and the final reveal is actually silly.
The cast execute their roles with vigor. Much of the movie is actually brutal, with the casual expenditure of lives. One constant theme is the cunning and vicious infighting among the Song officials.
This movie is popular in China, and we should note that the war drums are beating. This production is primarily a political statement. Less culturally relevant than the director's early works.
The title comes from the famous historical poem Man Jiang Hong. A call to arms to repel barbarian invaders and restore the Chinese Empire. An interesting choice of themes in these days of Russian-Chinese-American confrontation.
Anyway, a group of patriots attempt to uncover the Southern Song's prime minister as a secret Jin collaborator. They go about it in a crazy process of sacrificing each other in order to get closer to the suspect prime minister.
The letter from the Jin king is a red herring, and the final reveal is actually silly.
The cast execute their roles with vigor. Much of the movie is actually brutal, with the casual expenditure of lives. One constant theme is the cunning and vicious infighting among the Song officials.
This movie is popular in China, and we should note that the war drums are beating. This production is primarily a political statement. Less culturally relevant than the director's early works.