Farewell Chen Kaige
SACRIFICE is a beautiful and labyrinthine classical drama - for unconditional aficionados of sword plays and twisty plots only.
SACRIFICE
China, Kingdom of Jun, 583 B.C. Jealous of the Prime minister’s son Shuo, who just became a war hero, marries the gorgeous King’s sister Zhuang Ji (Fan Bingbing) and will soon become a father, sneaky and single general Tu Angu (Wang Xueqi) chooses to murder his rival and to exterminate his whole family, an ancient and illustrious 300-member clan. Impossible prima facie, but he manages it thanks to a loony but well elaborated plan involving a bloodthirsty dog and a poisoned mosquito.
But that’s not the most twisty part of the story. Cheng Ying (Ge You), doctor of the royal family, decides to save the last bloodline of the Zhao clan. First, he lets Tu’s soldiers steal the royal child thinking that’s he’s just a proletarian baby. Then, while they’re looking for the Zhao boy, he lets them find and kill his own son, pretending that he is the heir to the throne. Finally he goes back to the palace where Tu became the big boss and claims his “son” back. Like Tu, he has a plan, but a long-term one: raising the boy as his own son and when he becomes strong enough to kill a man, telling him the truth. But guess what: whatever plan you might have for your children, in the end they will always do as they like…
SACRIFICE is Chen Kaige’s third feature adapted from the theatre, after the Golden Palm winning FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE (1993) and the not so exciting FOREVER ENTHRALLED (2008). Based on an old Chinese opera, it’s a very well shot classical action drama on loyalty and revenge, with Shakespearian heroes and villains.
Kaige is skilled enough to make his protagonists’ humanity shine through, as when he focuses on the doctor’s fear of letting his adopted son confront real life, firstly at school. Or when he depicts Tu’s desire to be a father. Too bad that he doesn’t find the same inspiration to explore the messed-up psychology of his characters. As for the plot, it’s often unbelievable and definitely too labyrinthine. But it won’t be enough to discourage lovers of epic dramas, sword plays and bloody massacres. The film remained N°1 at the Chinese box office for two weeks.
301 Moved Permanently