Manjianghong

This is a tough movie to get a hold of. The producers apparently described it as a suspense movie with comedic elements, but it is rarely either funny or suspenseful. I'd say it's in part a drama of intrigue, part a mystery, but mainly I'd call it a horror movie because it's got a brutal body count and many deaths are horrifically cruel.

In fact, for me what's most interesting about the movie is how well it portrays a world where the pecking order involves who can kill who, making life cheap as people use murder to impress or jockey for position. It's actually a good example of a systemic issue - it's a kill or be killed world and there's really no way out.

The story involves a murder investigation, at least at first, but there are all sorts of twists and turns along the way. It's convoluted and at times I got lost.

But finally at the end the central driving force of everything is revealed, and it made ZERO sense to me. I had to do a bunch of research to figure out the meaning. Full River Red is apparently a poem schoolchildren learn in China but if you don't know the poem or Chinese history then the denouement is incomprehensible.

I'm not saying this as a criticism - it's perfectly fine to make a movie that only makes sense to the people of the country it's made in. I'm just offering a warning that the ending may not resonate as well if you didn't grow up in China.

Overall, I liked Full River Red but didn't love it. It's genuinely engrossing. The cast is good, particularly Teng Shen and Wang Jiayi. The score by Hong Han is amazing, with all these crazy punk songs that I've read are rocked-out Chinese folk songs. But the weird genre stew, the unpleasant brutality, and the puzzling-until-you-research-it ending made it less enthralling than the best of director Yimou Zhang's films.

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.

I can see that Yimou Zhang tries really hard to have multiple twists in the movie in order to surprise the audience as much as he could, and the movie has some fun moments for sure, but I am not convinced by the final twist - the purposes of the gang, which is to pass on the poem written by Yue Fei before he was executed. This just seems too nationalistic, political, twisted and pointless, and literally makes this movie more like a propaganda movie than a piece of art, as the core value is so twisted!

People's lives are more precious than anything. It's a great deed that people sacrifice themselves to save another's life, but it's just a brain wash that people are willing die to pass on the love to their ruler.

It's really sad to see the twisted value in so many Chinese movies nowadays, and Yimou Zhang just contributed another.

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.

Man Jiang Hong, internationally known as Full River Red, is a mixture of a period drama and a conspiracy thriller taking place during the Shaoxing period of the Southern Song dynasty. The entire movie takes place at the prime minister's residence where a foreign diplomate dies under mysterious circumstances and a secret letter he was carrying disappears without a trace. A team of investigators uncovers a conspiracy that is much more significant than initially anticipated.

This movie convinces on several levels. It has been directed by experienced veteran Zhang Yimou who has been responsible for cinematic masterpieces such as Shadow, The Flowers of War and Hero. While Full River Red isn't among his greatest movies, the calm, precise and swift camera work, the impressively detailed bird perspectives and the use of epic backdrops make this movie a visual sensation.

Full River Red brings the Southern Song dynasty to life with numerous imaginative details. This includes the diversified clothing, the way the huts and palaces are designed and also the use of numerous different weapons. The attention to detail in this film is particularly outstanding.

This film also entertains with a fluid blend of genres that will keep viewers intrigued through its ambitious running time. The movie starts with some slapstick comedy scenes, quickly features some visually stunning martial arts sequences, develops into a profound drama and ultimately becomes a gripping conspiracy thriller. The transitions between all these sections are very smooth as each genre gets about thirty to forty-five minutes to start, shine and fade out before the next section takes over. This procedure makes for a highly entertaining final result.

This movie however isn't without its flaws. The running time of one hundred fifty-nine minutes is a little bit too long for one single film. Zhang Yimou could have easily cut half an hour worth of material to avoid unnecessary repetitions and slow transitions. The plot is very clever but at times includes a few too many twists for its own good before concluding on an exaggeratedly patriotic note that many contemporary Chinese movies are dreadfully suffering from. One last element to criticize are the acting performances that are decent to good but fail to leave a deeper impression. The country's greatest actresses and actors can be found in other contemporary films such as Ride On, Sakra and Post Truth rather than this film.

At the end of the day, Full River Red is a wonderful movie for anyone interested in ancient Chinese culture, creative martial arts films and twisted conspiracy thrillers. For anyone who appreciates all three elements, this movie should firmly sit among the top twenty films of the year. However, this movie isn't as great as the promoters would like us to believe and Zhang Yimou has done better jobs on numerous occasions in the past.