Watching Dragon, Hidden Growler - Film Reviews

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All films are stories. Told by writers, directors and many other creative people. Whether the movies are British, Hollywood, Bollywood or from wherever in the world. I find many Chinese and East Asian films very innovative and highly entertaining. Here are a few I'd like to share.

Rawle Austin presents...

The Promise (Wu Ji) - A Review

"A glorious martial arts fantasy." That is how this film is described by the USA's LA Times. I have to agree. Director Chen Kaige and all the cast and crew have surpassed themselves with this creation. I love watching martial art action period dramas set in ancient China. These are my ultimate favourites. I intend to be reviewing a lot more of these types of films. Director quote "The central themes of the film are love, destiny and freedom."

The basic story revolves around two main characters. Jang Dong-Gun plays Kun Lun, a slave who discovers he has the ability to move really fast. This is due to his heritage from the mythical land of snow. He saves his general played by Hiroyuki Sanada who gives him his crimson armour and tells him to complete his mission to save the King. That is where the fun begins. We see a real growth of his character from being oppressed to showing the world his shining glory.

A girl who made a promise to a sorceress (the goddess Manshen) for great beauty. In exchange for this gift she was destined to lose anyone who loved her. A tragic premise and one stunningly portrayed. Cecilia Cheung plays Princess Qingcheng who falls in love with Kun Lun in his guise as the General. Her flowing robes increased her graceful movements and helped to add a sense of regality to her performance.

The villain of the piece is Duke Wuhuan played by Nicholas Tse and he is suitably menacing. His right hand man, Snow Wolf is played by Hui Ye. He is also from the Land of Snow and have amazing powers. He serves with reluctance and the veil that covers half his face has its own story to tell. Watching the behind scenes interviews and and documentaries you could feel a real sense of family among the cast and crew. Mixing Korean, Japanese and Chinese actors made this an international effort.

Click here to check out The Promise [DVD]

The hallmarks of this film are undoubtedly the magnificient set pieces and the vibrant costume colours. The costumes only serve to add to the fantasy and supernatural feel of this movie. Spread out over a vast array of scene locations The Promise looks majestic. It will blow you away when you see it. This is testament to the visual powers of legendary cinematographer Peter Pau. The fight sequences often take on the form of elegant dances, giving a unique look to the movie.

One scene showing an epic battle between two armies in a canyon with a massive stampede of bulls made me think of Lord of the Rings for the scope of this film's ambition. It pushed all my action fantasy buttons as well as my love of period drama. I love the use of so called wire-fu which gives the impression of flying and being able to leap large distances. This serves to accentuate the magical nature of the world we are now in.

The Promise also makes exquisite use of CGI special effects for certain sequences that cry out to be seen. I saw the film on DVD but can only imagine the jaw dropping sight it must have made on the big screen. It is told in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles.

This film merits an eight out of ten from me and is rated 15.

Impressive and a must see!

< Geisha Assassin | The Twins Effect >

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