poignant account of heroism and self-sacrifice

Rating: 8/10 (6 April 2012)

At first,I think this film is not bed.In the view of mine it's the best works of director Zhang. It is therefore quite impossible to expect objectivity from any Chinese treatment on the subject- even if it is from internationally acclaimed director and the once-infant terrible of Chinese cinema Zhang Yimou- so the best one can hope for is subtlety, with Lu Chuan's earlier box-office hit 'City of Life and Death' being an excellent example. Fortunately therefore, though Zhang Yimou's take begins on an overtly jingoistic slant, it eventually settles for a nuanced approach that exudes the very humanity at the heart of Yan Geling's story, becoming a moving and poignant account of heroism and self-sacrifice.