PDA

View Full Version : Shadow (Zhang Yimou)



Spinal
03-16-2019, 06:14 PM
https://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p485/joelharmonpdx/edited-image_zpsbfgendi0.png

IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6864046/)

Spinal
03-16-2019, 06:25 PM
There's plenty to like here, but for me it doesn't reach the heights of Hero or House of Flying Daggers. The most striking element of the film is the extraordinary art direction and costuming which use the central shadow theme as a jumping off point. Instead of the brightly saturated colors we usually associate with Zhang, we have blacks, whites and grays which beautifully bring the actors' faces into highlight. The blood becomes very striking too, and boy, there's a lot of it. Maybe I'm mis-remembering his other work, but this seemed uncharacteristically brutal by comparison. There's a few of those trademark Zhang Yimou moments of magic that will probably put a smile on your face. I don't know that the story is anything special with three nondescript kingdoms battling for one walled city. Therefore I didn't have much of an emotional connection in the end. But it's pretty good.

Peng
06-15-2019, 08:13 AM
Ludicrous, ludicrously entertaining. It's impeccably stylish and technically gorgeous with some of the year's best action scenes, and the political intrigue provides grand sweep and emotional investment to the style and fights as well. The palace story may get a tad too twisty in the end stretch, but overall the backstabbing and secret plans are so fun to watch play out, without sacrificing the characterization of all people involved. Last scene is a nicely ambiguous capper to the whole film too, with the ability of all those murky duality throughout the film, both moral and literal, to make one lose all bearing. 8/10