Sacrifice
2010; directed by Chen Kaige

Chen Kaige's costume drama Sacrifice is ambitious fare. Based on the classic Chinese play The Orphan of Zhao, the film takes place in the kingdom of Jin. General Tuan Gu (Wang Xueqi) is looking to get rid of the ruling Duke Ling (Peng Bo) and his family, and he sees the best way to do this is to kill everyone. Tuan succeeds, except for one baby that is smuggled out by doctor Cheng Ying (Ge You). Cheng must now choose wether to protect his own son or the Zhao heir, a situation exacerbated by Tuan's threat to kill all the infant children in the kingdom if his demands are not met.

Though the previews -- especially for the US version, which is out now on video on demand and coming soon to DVD -- makes this out to be your usual historical epic with an emphasis on large scale battles, the conflicts here are more internal in nature. This is most definitely not a movie for those people who have cinematic ADD. Though there aren't too many characters present here, they have deep characterizations and backstories, which aren't exactly displayed at a blitzkrieg pace. In fact, it takes about half of the film's running time to get the story elements set up.

This is not to say that Sacrifice is a boring movie, but it does take its' time to get where it is going. If you're expecting high-flying kung fu, then you should probably look elsewhere. But if you're in the mood for a well-made, character driven drama, Sacrifice will fit the bill. So why doesn't this movie warrant a higher rating? First and foremost -- and this may be just a deficit with this particularly grumpy and jaded reviewer -- but there are pangs of burnout hitting, as there have been a lot of these sorts of dramas released from the Mainland over the past few years. And, really, one person can only be expected to sit through so many sweeping epics before a sense of deja vu sets in, no matter how technically well made the particular product ends up being.

Also, Sacrifice ends up being a little too convoluted for its' own good, with the resolution not being able to go up to the level of the initial setup. This feeling also seems to permeate over to the lead actors, who seem confused at points as to where exactly to take their characters. These sorts of detriments aren't enough to make Sacrifice a bad film. Unfortunately, they do keep it from becoming a great one, instead, leaving this release in the realm of the average, something that is more for the die-hard arthouse crowd looking to add another semi-obscure foreign movie that they can brag on Twitter about seeing rather than fare for more general audiences.

RATING: 6

This movie is available from Amazon.