Zhang Yimou isn’t the first acclaimed international filmmaker to have come a cropper by working within the Hollywood studio system, but, even still, “The Great Wall” hurt more than most. Yimou is the winner of top prizes at all three major European international festivals, and a rare Chinese director to have had big commercial successes in the U.S. with “Hero” and “House Of Flying Daggers,”and his Matt Damon-starring fantasy actioner was intended to unite the best of blockbusters from both east and west.
Instead, however, it was a muddy, joyless mess, seemingly produced from the same Universal CGI factory that made “Snow White & The Huntsman” and “Warcraft.” It didn’t perform disastrously, mostly thanks to a healthy $170 million take in China, but few would mark it as either a creative or commercial success, and it seems likely to be something of a footnote in Yimou’s storied career. Fortunately, the director went home, licked his wounds, and came back stronger, because his new film “Shadow” is something of a triumph, and the best thing he’s done in at least a decade.
At once a return to, and a departure from, the visually lavish wuxia action of his best-known films, “Shadow” is set in the third century, during the time of the Three Kingdoms, and centers on Yu (Deng Chao), the brilliant military commander of the Pei Kingdom. After years of battle have taken their toll, Yu replaced himself with an identical ‘shadow’ named Jing (also played by Deng), with only Yu’s wife Madam (Sun Li) aware of the difference.
The young king (Zheng Kai, entertainingly channeling Joaquin Phoenix in “Gladiator” by way of Eric Trump) seeks peace with a neighboring nation who have occupied one of their cities by marrying off his sister, but Yu is determined that the city should be taken back properly and through violent means, and sets out to use Jing for that purpose.
It’s convoluted stuff to be sure, with plenty of twists and turns along the way (perhaps too many by the end?), but Yimou keeps a sturdy hand on the narrative here, thanks in part to the careful pace of the film’s opening, which keeps the physical action on the back-burner until you’re sure what’s going on. Compared to some of Yimou’s films in this genre, it’s actually fairly contained, with most of the movie taking place in three or four locations.
Which is not to say that one of the movie’s great visual stylists has made something drab and sedate either. It’s a far cry from the bright primary colors of “Hero,” but the film’s aesthetic — it’s in colour, but every bit of costume and production design is in stark black and white, modeled after the yin and yang symbols, with an occasional splash of red once battle begins properly later on – is startling and stunning to look at.
This is a filmmaker in total command of every visual element — his compositions more compelling than ever, the production design almost verging on steampunk, and a special mention has to go to the extraordinary costumes — but it doesn’t feel stifling or precious either. I can’t think of a film this year that’s been such a pleasure to look at.
And the action, when it comes, absolutely bangs. It’s probably not ruining things too much to say that rather than swords and arrows, the fight sequences mostly revolve around, uh, umbrellas (Yimou sadly thought better of calling the film “Killin’ In The Rain”). The result, in the final battle and in a few warm-up sequences beforehand, is some of the most kinetic, inventive, and thrilling sequences that Chinese cinema — or any cinema, really — has seen in a long while. The extended final sequence, in particular, is something of a masterclass in cross-cutting and tension building.
As with “Hero” before it, one can perhaps question the political subtext of Yimou’s film — it’s less overtly pro-totalitarianism than “Hero,” but does slightly seem to endorse the message of ‘fuck peace, war is awesome.’ If you’re able to swallow that uncomfortable pill, though, you’ll be left with a gorgeous-looking, deeply thrilling action film, and a return to the top tier of his work for a great director. [A-]
“Shadow” will be released by Well Go USA in 2019.
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