Review | Shadow film review: Zhang Yimou returns to form with masterful tale of intrigue and deception
- Featuring compelling performances and incredible action, Shadow proudly stands alongside Zhang’s past triumphs Hero and House of Flying Daggers
- Its immaculate slow-build of training, tension and treachery shows the director has truly recaptured his mastery of the wuxia genre
4/5 stars
More than a decade since Zhang Yimou’s last foray into the wuxia (martial arts) genre, the celebrated filmmaker returns with Shadow, a visually ravishing tale of intrigue and deception that stands proudly alongside his past triumphs Hero and House of Flying Daggers.
Employing a washed-out monochrome aesthetic that recalls classical Chinese “shui-mo” water and ink paintings, and featuring compelling performances and rousing sequences of beautifully choreographed action, Shadow marks a welcome return to form for the director, following a string of underwhelming offerings.
The film is set during China’s tumultuous Three Kingdoms period, with the rain-drenched Kingdom of Pei having lost the tactical stronghold of Jingzhou to a rival clan. The king (Zheng Kai) is at odds with his court as to how he should regain control, and plans to marry off his younger sister (Guan Xiaotong) to the son of rival General Yang (Hu Jun).
However, his own Commander Yu (Deng Chao) has brokered a deal to fight Yang in one-on-one combat to decide the fate of Jingzhou. But the Commander harbours a secret: he is not Yu, but a shadow, or “Ying”, a double raised in secret since childhood for Yu’s protection. Only Yu, crippled by illness and hidden within the palace cellars, and his loyal wife (Sun Li), know the truth. But now Ying (also Deng) must prepare for a duel he cannot possibly win.
