Shadow (5 Stars)

There are four directors that I admire above all others. Sion Sono, whose film "Exte" I watched yesterday, is in first place. After that come Alex de la Iglesia, Quentin Tarantino and Zhang Yimou. I listed those three in alphabetical order, because it's difficult to say which of the three I like most. I'd place them equal second. I'll try to watch at least one film of each of the four directors this month, if I have time in between all of the horror films I'll be watching. After Sion Sono I'm turning to "Shadow", the newest film by Zhang Yimou. I saw it at this year's Fantasy Film Festival in Stuttgart, and it's already available on Blu-ray. Sadly, it hasn't been given a general cinema release in most countries outside of China. Is it too much of a niche film? Maybe.

The film takes place in the Three Kingdoms era of China, which was approximately 220 to 280 AD. The story has a historical background, and most of the characters really existed, but the story itself is fictional.

The kingdom of Pei lost the city of Jingzhou to the kingdom of Yang, after the Pei commander Ziyu was badly wounded in battle with the Yang general Yang Pang. The people of Pei, including most of the noblemen, consider Jingzhou to be rightfully theirs, but the King of Pei wants to avoid battle. He offers his sister as wife to the King of Yang to unite their kingdoms, but the reply is that the sister isn't worthy of marriage and can only be his mistress.

Ziyu challenges Yang Pang to a duel to decide ownership of the city. The King of Pei is angry that this challenge was made behind his back.

Unknown to everyone, the commander has been replaced by a double, called a shadow. The real commander is slowly dying as a result of the wound he received in battle, so he's appointed someone who looks identical to him to carry out his plans.

The commander (middle) and his double (left) are played by the same actor, Deng Chao. The commander's wife (right) loves her husband, but the more similar the double becomes to him the more her feelings are torn.

The film's cinematography is unusual, and I admit that I didn't accept it until the second time I watched it. In his other films Zhang Yimou is known for his bright, vibrant colours. In this film everything is in black and white, except for blood and the colour of people's skin. Even so, most of the film takes place in poor lighting, so the red of the faces is hardly noticeable. Here's another screenshot which shows the colouring more clearly.

As in most of Znag Yimou's previous films, music plays an important role. The final duel between the double and the general are interposed between a scene of the commander and his wife playing a duet on their zithers. The music is just as aggressive and warlike as the battle itself.

And to add to the imagery, the musicians are sitting on the opposite dots of a Yin-Yang symbol.

This is an incredible historical drama. There are action sequences, but it's all about the atmosphere. I've read reviews by film critics who complain that there's too much talking before anything actually happens. They don't get it. Faster pacing would have ruined the film. Maybe it would have been better to make the film in full colour, but it's beautiful as it is.

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