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Wu Ming, internationally known as Hidden Blade, is a Chinese espionage thriller set during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It follows a group of secret agents supporting the Chinese Communist Party while discrediting the collaborative Republic of China regime and slowing down the Empire of Japan in its attempt to control China.

This movie convinces on multiple levels. First of all, this movie presents detailed if obviously opiniated historic and historical events with authentic settings such as accurate clothing, elements of engineering such as cars and trains of that era, fitting locations bringing to life Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai from the thirties to the sixties, popular music of its time and credible espionage techniques. These elements make the movie quite immersive despite the underlying propagandistic tendencies presenting the collaborators as dishonest, the invaders as arrogant and the communists as particularly courageous. The actual truth is obviously a lot less glorious for all parties involved.

Up next, the plot of this film is very clever and requests much attention to be fully understood without being overtly challenging in my book. There are quite a few characters with hidden agendas, several cliffhangers that are being picked up at later moments and a clever use of flashbacks and flashforwards. This intellectual storytelling is a brave but successful attempt at breaking with conventional and predictable scriptwriting to get intellectual and intelligent viewers mentally involved.

Speaking of the characters, all of them have much depth, including the heroines and heroes working under the most difficult circumstances, ambitious collaborators trying to achieve successful careers and the invaders trying to outwit their enemies with complex plans to bring their home country glory and respect. Even though these three groups have widely different perspectives of reality, they are all united by their dedication, intellect and resilience. These elements make the numerous confrontations throughout the movie so authentic, tense and unpredictable.

The intellectual storytelling is at times combined with some moments of action and drama. The former occurs during assassination attempts, car chases or shootouts. The latter take place during deep discussions about family, fate and friendship, intense interrogations leading up to scenes involving torture and murder and the film's numerous twists when the different characters' true intentions are revealed step by step.

Despite its intellectual strength, this movie's most memorable scene aside from the closing scene that answers the last remaining questions in a satisfactory manner is however the lengthy shootout at an apartment complex that showcases how every character involved makes enormous sacrifices to fight for ideals.

This movie isn't without its flaws however. The underlying element of propaganda has already been mentioned before and makes the movie less credible than it actually could have been. Up next, the movie has several lengths in its middle section with long conversations interrupted by at times rather confusing changes in place and time. While the movie's intellectual side is overall a welcome addition, this element is at times overdone and ends up harming the film's overall flow. Most viewers will get used to this unusual pace and style after a while but the movie might only be fully appreciated and understood upon watching it for a second time. Viewers are certainly expected to bring a lot of intellectual flexibility, background knowledge and stoic patience to the table to fully embrace this film. If you are looking for a smooth movie that entertains but doesn't request active intellectual participation, then this film is going to be a challenge and might even become a burden for you.

At the end of the day, I would recommend Hidden Blade to cinephiles interested in Chinese culture, historic dramas and conspiracy thrillers. Quite a few movies have recently been made about events occurring during the.so-called War of Resistance. Hidden Blade stands out as the most intellectual film of this selection but not as the overall most satisfying viewing experience which might rather go to Ba Bai, The Eight Hundred, released three years earlier.

The cast is very attractive. The film is a non-linear narrative method that Director Cheng Er is good at. You can understand it if you immerse yourself in it.

The first half is mainly about the role of Mr. He. Tony is still so handsome. He uses his original voice, including Mandarin and Cantonese. The original lines are great!

The second part mainly talks about the role of Mr. Ye played by Wang Yibo. There is an action play by a single shot which is so wonderful. In the film, there are many scenes of personal performance. He plays very well and can feel the emotions of the character. He has a lot of Japanese dialogue in the film, all of which are learned and performed at shooting site. It is amazing that his language talent and learning ability.

Women's roles are not many, but they are all amazing. Zhou Xun, as the director said, "every pore can play". Jiang Shuying impressed me deeply and is quite memorable. I think the director is good at telling women's roles in troubled times.

The film tells the story of Anti-Japanese War in China. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Central Special Action Section of the CPC contend with Chongqing, Wang Jingwei's Puppet Regime and Japanese spy agencies in Shanghai. Through the complex information system behind the enemy, it plotted against the enemy, obtained information, and killed the traitors. The underground agents risked their lives to send information, and established a broader united front, until the eve of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and defended the motherland with their lives. The whole process was extremely exciting, with compact plot, beautiful scenes, exquisite props, and immersive performances. The narrative form of interlude plays up the tense plot. The seemingly unrelated scenes have a continuous relationship. When you put these information together, you will find that the story is extremely wonderful and memorable.

Upfront, I am astounded by the dichromatic visual aesthetics, the painstaking production design, and the drearily solemn atmosphere, which swiftly institutes a suspenseful mood. The lingering tension continues to build as seemingly irrelevant narratives, discourses, and incidents begin to unfold, intersect, and repeat, embroidering a convoluted story with the aid of purposefully fragmented editing. However, lacking both historical contextualization and relational clarification, the movie demands much heed, deduction, and prior knowledge from its audience to fully comprehend and rationalize the plot. And yet, if you do manage to wade through the mist, you will find the tale hither and thither illogical, or flawed, for instance the riveting hallway brawl moderately contradicts the final revelation. Speaking of which, the prolix denouement marginally punctures the perfectly constructed angst in the first act, limiting blankness of interpretation. Overall, sublime performances, stylistic presentation, and undoubtedly a film I recommend.

Hidden Blade is set in Shanghai in an era where it was all chaos Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, and it chronicles China's growth under the Communist Party's leadership Under the director Cheng er lens the movie is a visual treat every frame is soo beautiful so symmetrical and the use of light is brilliant with soft hues and dark and yellow The cast is so well chosen every actor fits the characters so well we have The Tony Leung here as the main character and no need to say how great he is then there is ever beautiful and very talented Zhou xun get role is small but impactful but who impressed me the most is new actor WangYibo he had the most complex character in the movie and he completed it amazingly It's a great cinematic experience I recommend it👏👏

HiddenBlade is Noir film, artistic film!!!!

Cinematography of Hidden Blade is amazing perfect and beautiful!! There have plot-twist. 🎥🎥

Acting of Tony Leung and Zhou Xun is so worth to watch. Young Actor Wang Yibo's acting is still get along with Tony Leung, more than expectations!!

Great job Actor Yibo!!

Some people who gave 1 star or. 2 star to film is obviously gave by anti because of they hate Yibo a lot.

Even though anti hate yibo a lot, they should know and Google first who is director Cheng Er.

Cheng Er's Level is not cheap !!!

Those anti personally and obviously attack to yibo without watching Movie!!!

I accept some people may not like Cheng Er's style but this is not bad film!!