La leyenda del río rojo

Zhang Yimou is the most famous Chinese director of all time, but even he cannot be sure to get away with social criticism after the clampdowns against Jack Ma, Hong Kong activists and CoVid critics. So what does a film maker do when he wants to address the frustration many of his compatriots feel? He resorts to satire, and sets the action comfortably far away in the past.

What starts out as a mystery concerning a missing letter no one must know quickly turns into slapstick comedy, and many viewers familiar with Zhang's epics feel let down by this because there isn't really any suspense. There are numerous twists and turns which seem haphazard and do not dive the plot forward. All the while the action is confined to the same palace grounds. It's totally understandable if this seems rather pointless and dull. And the Hamlet-like ending seems out of sync with the previous irony.

And yet, there is something beneath which only people familiar with authoritarian regimes will catch on to - the zeal of government officials to save their own skin with complete disregard to the task at hand. The characters constantly plot against each other and/or form allegiances to somehow emerge from the whole dilemma unscathed. It's mostly in vain because they are puppets of an invisible power - like in contemporary China, where no one can figure out the meaning behind the latest regulations, and where even the powerful thrive at the mercy of appearances. Even the title-giving poem, which could be seen as an allusion to Taiwan, is actually just another smokescreen for personal ambition.

If Zhang had made this into a straightforward mystery or wuxia, it could have been interpreted as subversive by the censors, but because it's farcical, it's all a joke so they can't. So even if the story is too convoluted and the black humor doesn't stick, it's probably still a breath of fresh air for many Chinese spectators and deserves its commercial success.

What saves this story is the performance of the main cast. All actors play their roles passionately, and they are the only real strenght this movie has. The sets are limited but not holding back the movie.

The story is decently captivating. It starts as a whodunnit, that turns into a case of national security. Various factions are in the game, that don't know who to trust. Overall a gripping story, but it does get more nonsensical as it goes on.

The absolute worst part is the music, especially it's volume. Without exaggeration, the music is 10x as loud as the audio. I spent two hours holding the remote, ready to press mute. The music also fits the scenes it's played in poorly, but that would be forgiven if it was not 10x too loud.

Right, just watched it so it's fresh in my mind.

The sound design is probably the first thing the audience would notice. Every action, every scene is accompanied by a unique noise such as having gongs beaten on the slap of a fan, that, I wouldn't go as far as to say it is innovative but it is certainly rare to hear in most modern films. It essentially takes traditional Chinese theatre music and integrates them into the movie.

You've probably seen this film being listed as a comedy but by no means is this a comedy so don't be misled into thinking it'll be a Stephen Chow type thing. Sure there are some comedic elements to break the steam a bit once and a while but the seriousness of the movie is very well reflected throughout. Also, don't expect much action, this is not an action film. It works in the same way as a detective movie would go about.

And that leads me into the penultimate point. The unpredictability of every corner. Sure sometimes, going overboard with avoiding cliches can be detrimental at times but this is an instance where it remains impressively well thought out. There's a very clear crescendo that hits its climax at the very end so just know the tension will only keep rising whilst maintaining a good storytelling pace.

Mind you, you really need to keep track of what's going on or you are for certain going to lose grip on the story.

However, if there are a couple of critiscms to be made. The ending had room to be even more fleshed out, since at that point, everything happens really quickly and there's a weird unexplained twist that gets shoved in there without too much explanation. Furthermore, as good as the non-cliches are, it creates a pattern that you pick up pretty easily if you're focused enough.

My personal verdict on this movie comes as a 9/10. Highly unexpected for this year. I had not even heard of it before today in fact except reading on the background history of the time period of which this film is set in. There are few films in the past few years which has actually attracted my attention to write a review on it, and I'm glad that I've watched it and have been able to give my review.

Thank you.

A rather slow and stagnant film in the first half, it was largely driven by charisma of individual actors. Also not helped by the monotonous setting of the film, which is just grey wall and grey sky throughout. But Full River Red quickly picked up steam as twists after twists and as the suspense grew. The movie has a powerful ending as Yue Fei's poem is recited, for which the film is named after. It is not hard to understand why the film had sub a great box office as it is truly a star studded lineup, but perhaps it is a little surprising that the film is more than what is shown on the surface. It is about struggle and standing up to power and desires while being told in a self deficating way.

The plot is told in the form of a double male lead in a fast-moving, ancient idol scripted secret room. I can appreciate the helplessness and hopelessness of the film's producers.

The short video-style comedy starring Shen Teng is the highlight of the film, and Yi Yiming Qianxi supports the vast majority of the main line and growth story, but it is clear that the character he plays is not doing well in the plot, which is the problem of the script, not the actor.

The cast is undoubtedly too strong in China, when scoring it is recommended to give the cast 6 points first, and then reduce the score according to other issues as appropriate.