kawaii marie
I only rated it so low because it was kind of a disappointment to me. Maybe it was only a disappointment because I was expecting the main character to be older, not a little annoying 15 year old boy. They used up literally an hour and a half of the movie just to show him growing up, and the rest of the 30 minutes of him finally finding out what really happened to his parents. Overall, this movie wasn't really filled with action and really amazing fight scenes as I was hoping there was going to be. There was a lot of talking, so if you aren't the type person who can sit through a two hour long movie reading subtitles, this movie is not for you. The story and how it developed was amazing though, and I think the lesson of it was great as well. It was really emotional.
Chris_Pandolfi
The premise of "Sacrifice" does not sit well with me, but then again, perhaps that was the intention. Taking place in ancient China, it tells the melodramatic story of a man who uses his adopted son as a means to seek restitution of the death of his biological son; on the basis of the movie's emotional and fatalistic ending, it's quite possible that the film was supposed to be broadly moralistic in much the same way as fairy tales or other such fables. But I have no way of knowing if this is actually the case. Truth be told, I'm just clinging to hope. If the intention was to somehow glorify or downplay the actions of the main character, if we're meant to view him as some kind of hero, then something went horribly wrong somewhere along the way. To keep my temper in check, I will go forth on the assumption that the film is indeed a cautionary tale with a moral.Adapted from the ancient Chinese play "The Orphan of Zhao," we open, as many melodramas do, with personal and political tensions that ultimately lead to tragedy. We meet General Tu Angu (Wang Xueqi), a treacherous man who plots to end the reign of the powerful Zhao clan. He successfully poisons the duke (Peng Bo), frames the chancellor (Bao Guo'an) and the chancellor's son (Vincent Zhao) for it, and ultimately oversees the elimination of all 300 members of the clan. At the same time, we meet the duke's sister, Princess Zhuang (Fan Bingbing), who has just given birth to a boy named Zhao Wu. Accepting her fate, the Princess entrusts her son to her physician, Cheng Ying (Ge You), who was supposed to give him to a friend of the Zhao family. Her instructions were simple: Her son must never know his real name, nor his past or his enemies. She wants him to live a normal life.A complicated twist of fate inexorably alters this plan. As it turns out, Cheng Ying and his wife have a newborn son of their own, and General Tu, now aware that the Zhao baby has escaped execution, has decreed that the gates to the city be sealed and that all the newborn babies be rounded up. Long story short: Zhao Wu and baby Cheng are switched, resulting in the former being spared and the latter being slain at the hands of Tu. The Zhao family friend and Cheng Ying's wife also fell victim to Tu's wrath. Thus Cheng Ying is left to raise Zhao Wu as his own son. But he broods over his loss and swears vengeance on Tu. Essentially, his plan is to use Zhao Wu as his weapon; he will introduce him to Tu under the pretense that he's his actual son, allow Zhao Wu and Tu to grow close, and ultimately reveal to Zhao Wu that Tu murdered his family. His hope is that Zhao Wu will be so full of hate that he will kill Tu on the spot.For many years, all goes according to plan. We see Zhao Wu grow, first into a rambunctious child (Wang Han) who Cheng Ying refuses to let out of his sight, then into a teenage warrior (Zhao Wenhao). We see the boy grow closer to Tu, who believes the orphaned Zhao is dead, and distant from Cheng Ying. We see Cheng Ying form a friendship – or, more accurately, an alliance – with Tu's former subordinate Han Jue (Huang Xiaoming), who was present when Princess Zhuang gave her son to Cheng Ying and whose face was scarred by Tu in a fit of anger. We see the younger version of Zhao Wu rebel against Cheng Ying's overprotectiveness and demand that he be allowed to go to school. Does Cheng Ying love Zhao Wu? That's difficult to say; although he does occasionally reveal some paternal instincts, it's hard to imagine how you can love someone and yet persist in using them to satisfy your own need for vengeance.Now do you see why this film makes me so uneasy? Its plot depends almost entirely on a heartbroken man manipulating and lying to an orphaned boy out of anger. I have to believe that the purpose of this film is not to venerate Cheng Ying, but rather to speak out against his method of revenge. If that wasn't the case, if I'm interpreting the film incorrectly, then there's really no excuse for it beyond the superficial levels of narrative and technique. This is despite the fact that director/co-writer Chen Kaige has been personally vested in father/son stories since denouncing his own father, the filmmaker Chen Huai'ai, after joining the Red Guards as a teenager during the decade-long Cultural Revolution. It was a decision he would later regret deeply.My reservations notwithstanding, I am grateful that the visual appeal of "Sacrifice" depends not on the meaningless spectacle of martial arts but on production design, art direction, costume design, and makeup. I've repeatedly admitted an innate resistance to the martial arts genre, which relies on choreography rather than plot; this movie shows restraint in that regard, reserving all scenes of stylized violence for when they're absolutely necessary. As for the plot, I appreciate that it's dramatic and character driven, although I'm unsure about how it's supposed to be interpreted. If it is in fact the didactic vengeance fable I believe it to be, then the film is a success, playing up the contrivances for maximum melodramatic effect and ultimately delivering a message intended to teach the audience a lesson.-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)
kosmasp
I have to admit that I am a fan of Asian cinema in general and the so-called "Eastern" movie in specific. Though "Musa" will remain my favorite genre movie, this one is pretty decent too. I do agree with another commentator that the movie switches paces after a very fascinating and fast start. I don't think it is a bad thing generally speaking, though.While not without flaws (and story points/turns you might agree with), the story in itself is fascinating and as also pointed out by others there are quite some commentaries to todays politics. And movies are always a good medium to throw punches, especially if packed like that (playing in the past that is).
njmollo
Sacrifice (2010) directed by Chen Kaige is a misguided attempt at popularism. It fails in almost every department and resembles the work of a far less talented director. This is the surprise of Sacrifice, that it was directed by Chen Kaige. The film is so overly edited that at times this frequent cutting only heightens continuity errors. In one short sequence when the young hero walks towards his "godfather", one carefully chosen shot would suffice but we are treated with cuts to over five different camera set- ups. There are constant narrative flashbacks that are so short and trimmed that they confuse rather than enlighten.The use of the "fade-to-black" is so prevalent that it becomes a distraction. There are many cinematic clichés such as slow motion suddenly being inserted into a sequence for no other reason than "style". The sound-design is very cheesy with booms and thumps accompanying almost every fade to black. The story is essentially a melodrama, so the action, which is over-the-top and inconsequential, detracts from any emotional reality. Unlike other famous Chinese directors that have successfully experimented in the martial-arts (Wuxia) genre, Chen Kaige seems uncomfortable with the action and the more fantastic it becomes the more out of place it seems.The production design is also a weak point, with the sets looking like what they are - overly dressed sets.Finally the question has to be asked: How many horses were killed during this shoot? During a lacklustre cavalry battle, some horses take terrible falls that could only have been achieved with a trip-wire. A couple of horses are seen to fall directly onto their necks and faces while their whole bodies twist above them. It is impossible to imagine that in these instances the horses where not seriously and irrevocably harmed. A very disappointing and highly schizophrenic film from Chen Kaige.
