"SACRIFICE" is Chen Kaige's third adaptation of China's stage plays. Set in the Warring States period, the opening sequences show an excited Dr Cheng Ying (played by the cool and talented Ge You) welcoming the birth of his son. As the court physician, Cheng Ying is also thrilled about delivering the child of General Zhao, whose wife Zhuangji (Fan Bing Bing) gives birth at a tragic time when the mutinous General Tuan Gu (Wang Xueqi) stages an elaborate assassination of his lord and pins the blame on General Zhao. This gives Tuan Gu the perfect excuse to wipe out the entire Zhao clan.
However, the newborn Zhou prince - and heir to the throne - is placed in the care of Cheng Ying (Ge You), forcing Tuan Gu to order all babies in the city be rounded up as hostages. In a cruel twist of fate, Cheng's own baby is killed, and poor doctor is left to raise the Zhao boy, nicknamed Bo'er, as his own. As a form of revenge, Cheng schemes to have Bo'er become the godson of Tuan Gu so that the boy may one day learn the truth and claim the throne.
The first half hour of the movie is totally riveting. The tale of Tuan Gu's betrayal is lavishly portrayed in detailed settings and sets. The assassination conspiracy is mind-bogglingly complicated, involving a killer dog, a poisonous insect and a case of harmless wine. These court intrigue scenes alternate with those involving Cheng and the birth of Zhuangji's baby, raising the movie's tempo and our pulses, culminating in Cheng's shocking 'sacrifice'.
Indeed, after this sort of build-up, what follows has to be somewhat of a lull. Still, director Chen Kaige tries to work up our anticipation with the 'revenge' plot involving Cheng, a rather mellowed Tuan Gu and the Zhao boy, Bo'er. The pace slackens a great deal here and it is Ge You's performance that keeps our minds from wandering off.
Chen keeps the revenge plot morally ambiguous (and not very convincing) but the sacrifice of one's son cuts deeply into China's audiences who have experienced the Government's one-child policy. The play "Orphan of Zhao" from which this movie is adapted, was a feudal propaganda that exalts loyalty to the aristocracy. Chen's adaptation offers an interesting study on how fatherly love can be used as a tool for vengeance, to cultivate pain and regret. "Sacrifice" is not Chen Kaige's masterpiece, but it is worth watching. (limchangmoh.blogspot.com)
