A Sombra do Reino

I'm never a big fan of Mr. Zhang Yimou especially in recent two decades. To me his all time best movie is "To Live"(1994). After 2000, since "Hero", his movies seems only focused on creating pretty images but all have very weak stories and most of the characters were too simple and tedious. But this time "Shadow" is not a weak story, it looks like a simple story but in fact is a complicated one which have several storylines and everybody in this movie have multiple character sides, every characters has strong personalities and strong thoughts. Although there are still some symbolic things which are kinda weird but I have to say this is one of his best in recent two decades.

I just ended up seeing this movie without any expectations, The movie was great, The cinematography was well done , visually stunning and properly executed, The movie was a bit lengthy but slowly picked up the pace, definitely recommended...

Right off the bat, I'll mention the main negative of the movie (as this will probably be the first thing you will encounter).

The beginning is so slow and uninteresting, that you'll be tempted to switch off after the first 30 minutes. And you'll be forgiven for doing so, due to the very limited nature of the characters and setting. And as bizarre this may sound, one of the film's main strengths -- the dull colours / visuals -- may contribute to your boredom. And that's because of the movie's chosen colour scheme (dark grey vs light grey).

But if you can get over this hurdle (and its not easy, I admit) and appreciate how beautiful they movie actually looks, you'll soon be rewarded with a middle and end that eventually picks up in excitement, plot and action.

If you're a fan of Chinese cinema and its ancient themes, you'll like this. The way its shot, the editing, the action and the visuals....are stunning at times. And you may appreciate it if you can get over the very boring beginning.

Beautiful. The photography , the craft of tension, the acting, , at the level of fight scenes- real spectacular, admirable made. And the impression of ink painting is one of its high gifts. Another virtues - the resurrection of memories about Kurasawa universe, few drops of Shakespeare tragedies and the image of "shadow". A beautiful film, a decent- in large measure - tale and the feel to discover the cold water of a familiar lake.

This film will be well remembered, not for its ink paint style of cinematography, but for its characters, dialogue and ensemble performance. Deng Chao, who plays both the Shadow and the Commander at a time and can be often seen in the same frame with the help of marvellous visual effects, deserves all the attention and compliments for his commitment to acting. Didn't expect the adapted-from-historical-events drama turns out to be an action thriller ending with heavy blood stains, and the film almost reminded me of Feng Xiao-Gang's "The Banquet" when the ending credits rolled. But then, when I thought of the body moves of the Shadow, the Commander and his wife among Yin and Yang in the fight-practicing scene, and those tender moments between Shadow and his love, and their passion covered or burned through eye contact and physical distance in the light and the dark, I realised this is a Zhang Yimou film. The craftsmanship is simply for storytelling!