Based on Zhu Sujin’s rendition of China’s fabled Three Kingdoms saga, the fight scenes in Zhang Yimou’s latest wuxia historical epic are not as grandiose as those in Hero, but rather more elegantly beautiful. This beauty directs us inward toward the heart of the characters. Yu, a commander losing his kingdom, trains the low-born Jing to become his ‘shadow’ or double, in a plan to recover power and kingdom. Yu/Jing are played by Deng Chao, who lost over 20kg for the dual role. Jing comes to love Yu’s wife and finds his own identity. Whereas power and love are the two pillars of the film, the quest for identity is a strong undercurrent. When Jing returns from the war victorious, he returns his position to his master. This scene is the core of the narrative reversal and the climax of his identity search. The yin-yang symbol is a visualization of the loop-like narrative that brings everything back to where it began. The fight scene atop the yin-yang symbol is as good as the choreography seen in Hero. (Mun Gwan Gyu)