Shadow (5 Stars)

This is the 43rd film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

This is the film that I was most anxious to see. I expected it to be the best film of the festival. I'm not disappointed. It's up to the standard of his previous masterpieces.

The kingdom of Pei has lost the city Jingzhou to the kingdom of Yang. The king is afraid to go to war, but his commander Ziyu has challenged the king of Yang to a duel without his knowledge. We find out that Ziyu has been replaced by Jing, a man who looks identical. The real Ziyu is hiding in a cave. Out of the public sight, he's planning a war to reconquer Jingzhou, after which he will stage a rebellion and become the new king. And what about Jing? The duel with Yang's king is just meant as a distraction, and Ziyu expects Jing to die.

This is a majestic historical drama from Zhang Yimou. It has two significant differences to his previous films. First, there's a lot more blood than usual. Secondly, the colours aren't bright and colourful, which is Zhang Yimou's usual trademark. The cinematography is drab and subdued, and it's raining throughout the film.

Is it the best film of the festival? Almost. I prefer "Vivarium".