Manjianghong

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.