China's official entry to 2022's Oscars is a very good atmospheric historical spy thriller. Although its story is not my cup of tea, I enjoyed it and was involved in it all the time. The story unfolds interestingly and storytelling is beautiful. Cinematography, production design and costume design are all nice. Some scenes are really thrilling and intense.
20 Reviews
Chinese Revolution Inspired Films Never Gets Old
dorMancyx23 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
There's no end to China's revolution-themed movies because the depth of humaneness and literal drama could be excavated in every possible angle into a nutritious script. Cliff Walkers succeeded in combining a revolutionary operation with director Yimo Zhang's personal art style. Regarding photography, costume design, and environmental layout, the movie flawless depicts an era of polarization and conflict like the extremely contrasting colors. As to the plot, tension is naturally formed through dramatic ironies and the intricate objectives of every characters. The amount of attention is mandatory to completely understand the implication and intention behind the seemingly irrelevant conversations. However, even for a native speaker like myself, the exposition of the film is still confusing as I try to catch on to who each characters are (because they all look the same to me), what they want (imagine a spy of the good but serves the bad who tries to talk to the good without spoiling his identity to the bad), and how they do it, because all the details can cause later speculations and gamble between every vigilant minds. Now then, I have to praise Hewei Yu's performance as the secret reinforcement of our protagonists: all the expressions and body languages of this complicated agent is deliberately acted out to ensure his place as a loyal servant of the bad in front of the antagonists, while covertly aiding the safety of the good for the protagonists. There's no exaggeration in commending him for connecting all elements of the movie. With that said, I didn't really enjoy the sudden ending of mission accomplished, emotional agitation, and traitor execution, since the reality is a lot more merciless, and if the unobtrusive danger lives, there's no time for mourning before daybreak. There's only endurance for the martyrs who carried on with the fiery faith. Definitely an unparalleled production, and probably the best Chinese movie of this year.
Connecting dots in a blink of an eye
actress_tw10 May 2021
When too much information is weaved/stuffed into such a visual spectacle in just two hours, then some details must be missed out during the (first-time) viewing process. I really enjoyed the strain and the thrill that the movie offered in Act 2 , but it took me some time to realize who's who and I had to carefully follow up on everybody's lines and subtext in Act 1 (even if I speak Mandarin). It also feels a bit abrupt when we see things are all settled in the end. Clarity is inevitably compromised when the narrative sometimes requires the audience to connect dots by themselves , in a blink of an eye.
A Big Messy & Bloody Thrill but in a GREAT form
MovieIQTest3 May 2022
Well, this movie is obviously another try of the CCP to brainwash its 1.4 billion subjects and at the same to whitewash and make the Chinese Communist Party was the sole entity that fought against the Japanese even before China officially declared war against the Japanese invasion in the Puppet Manchuria regime. But fair is fair, other than the formulaic and cliched ideological whitewash&brainwash purposes, Zhang, the director, the whole cast, the camera work, the editing as well as the soundtrack, the song at the end, all seamlessly performed a great work.
The only miscast was actress Haocun Liu, who played the role Lan, a young, maybe too young to be a Soviet Russian trained Chinese Communist member. Her role in this movie was a huge mix bag, because sometimes she looked just too young, too fragile, too vulnerable to play such role, yet at some critical moments, she also weirdly showed a rare toughness and maturity. Her purity and decency showed in this movie are exactly when Zhang ZiYi was just an unknown young girl auditioned for Zhang Yimou's My Father & Mother 1999. Could she enjoy a bounty future as Zhang Ziyi? Only time could tell.
After watched this movie, an afterthought inevitably came up. If those founding members of CCP were exactly liked what they have shown in each and every propaganda movies including this one, then I have to say, that the once passionate and patriotic first batch of the Chinese Communist vanguards were long gone. If they knew what their beloved Party has become since 1949, I think all of them would turn in their graves and cry their hearts out.
The only miscast was actress Haocun Liu, who played the role Lan, a young, maybe too young to be a Soviet Russian trained Chinese Communist member. Her role in this movie was a huge mix bag, because sometimes she looked just too young, too fragile, too vulnerable to play such role, yet at some critical moments, she also weirdly showed a rare toughness and maturity. Her purity and decency showed in this movie are exactly when Zhang ZiYi was just an unknown young girl auditioned for Zhang Yimou's My Father & Mother 1999. Could she enjoy a bounty future as Zhang Ziyi? Only time could tell.
After watched this movie, an afterthought inevitably came up. If those founding members of CCP were exactly liked what they have shown in each and every propaganda movies including this one, then I have to say, that the once passionate and patriotic first batch of the Chinese Communist vanguards were long gone. If they knew what their beloved Party has become since 1949, I think all of them would turn in their graves and cry their hearts out.
The suspense is good, can be better
smiletanxing12 January 2022
Before this, I always thought "The Message" was the best one of this type. But Cliff Walkers impressed me with its story-telling.
Back in 1940s, four of the specially-trained spies were sent to commit a mission--To protect an informant and send him out so he can tell the truth about the government to the world. However, there are moles among the four. So it's harsh for the real agents to do the task.
Firstly, the acting is quite satisfying. Zhangyi played a senior spy in the movie, and his performance of being tortured was quite impressive.
Back in 1940s, four of the specially-trained spies were sent to commit a mission--To protect an informant and send him out so he can tell the truth about the government to the world. However, there are moles among the four. So it's harsh for the real agents to do the task.
Firstly, the acting is quite satisfying. Zhangyi played a senior spy in the movie, and his performance of being tortured was quite impressive.
Cinema Omnivore - Cliff Walkers (2021) 7.3/10
lasttimeisaw10 November 2021
"Zhang Yi leads the action in the first half, as his character is the traditional hero type who is decisive, vigilant and unflinchingly no-nonsense, an iron-wrought man who doesn't buckle under torture, so when Zhang crumples under his Achilles' heel (the attachment to his own offspring), it is Yu Hewei's Zhou, the surprising foe-to-friend undercover who takes up the gauntlet and resumes the endeavor. The secret mission takes a back seat, it is the "find the mole" game that propels the film to a satisfying if predictable finish in the homestretch. Great sacrifice is potently effectuated, mind game well played, earnest camaraderie emotively honored, the petticoat fighters are safe and waifs reunited with their parent, with the chief mission is accomplished en passant. Everything is well gauged to comply with China's ever-stringent censorship after Zhang Yimou's previous film ONE SECOND (2020), which also stars Zhang Yi and Liu Haocun, hits a bumpy road to get released."
read my full review on my blog: Cinema Omnivore, thanks.
read my full review on my blog: Cinema Omnivore, thanks.
Break Through and Limitation - Review of Cliff Walkers
kampolam-7581327 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Since the first English film "The Great Wall" (2016) by the director Zhang Yimou, "Shadow" (2018) has been produced for many years, but in the past two or three years, the director's production has been intensive. After the completion of "One Second" (2020), two genre films "Snipers" (2022) and "Cliff Walkers" (2021 were successively shot. The latter was the first to be released on the May 1st Labor Day schedule in 2021.
Since Zhang Yimou's "Hero" (2002) 19 years ago, genre films have been provoking his creativity from time to time In fact, as early as the early days of his debut, he directed the action film "Codename Cougar" (1989), and the success of "Hero" has an intention to break out of a genre, sometimes obvious, sometimes hidden. "Cliff Walkers" as his first wartime spy film, also has an attempt to break through the limitations of the genre. In addition to the texture of live-action shooting as well as the carefully conceived pictures and mise-en-scene, he divided the two male protagonists of the film into the upper and lower half of the film, this is also where many people criticize the film.
The concept of "Cliff Walkers" originated from the original novel "Horvat Street" by screenwriter Quan Yongxian, and was later adapted into the TV series "The Cliff", which was released in 2012, starring Zhang Jiayi and Song Jia. In Harbin during the puppet Manchuria period, the agent Zhou Yi played by Zhang Jiayi was lurking in the Secret Service Section of the National Police Agency, fighting wits with his superiors Gao Bin and Japanese military police, which was very popular. The name of the novel comes from the main street in Harbin, namely the current Zhongshan Road, formerly known as Horvat Street, which commemorates the Tsarist general Dmitry Horvat who built the Chinese Eastern Railway when Harbin was under the jurisdiction of Tsarist Russia. This old street has long been completely changed, but the film has created this old street that many Northeastern Chinese miss, which is also one of the selling points and features of the film. The film takes place in 1934 and is a prequel to the TV series. Zhou Yi is replaced by Yu Hewei, but the first part of the film is to explain the process of the four-member group "Utrennya" (meaning dawn in Russian) entering Harbin. The opening scene, the four of them were parachuted over the snowy forest in the northeast of China, and an overlook shot, quite pleasing to the eye. The plot follows the four people from the snow to the train to Harbin. Zhang Xianchen played by Zhang Yi and a new generation of "Zhang's actress" Liu Haocun play Xiao Lan, and the other group is Qin Hailu who plays Zhang Xianchen's wife Wang Yu and Xiao Lan's boyfriend, Zhu Yawen, palyed by Chu Liang. The two groups of people on the train, fighting with the agents of the Secret Service, from the rhythm of the plot to the details of the script, are a good example of a wartime spy movie. However, when Zhang Xianchen pretended to be a secret service officer to defraud another pair of passengers for the tickets, he got off the train separately from Xiao Lan, obviously creating an action scene for Liu Haocun to show off her skills. But this delicate girl, despite how hard she tried to perform, was still unconvincing, especially when she was surrounded and shot between the tracks, but did not alert other personnel, and managed to escape into the city smoothly.
For this "Zhang-actress", Liu Haocun in "One Second" played a wild child who went to snatch the film with the actor Zhang Yi for his younger brother. It was quite eye-catching. In addition to Zhang Yi's full-strength performance, the film was well received. However, when Zhang Yimou returned to genre films, he was once again criticized by various parties. This phenomenon has not escaped this "doom" from the "flashy" of "Hero" in that year to the "luxurious decoration" of Cliff Walkers this year. This has something to do with Zhang Yimou's artistic directorial style, which is too deep-rooted. When he handles genre films with his personal style and ability, there are no more or no less in order to break through or break down the routines and barriers of certain genre films. To be able to "reach the standard", breaking the routine becomes disrupting the rhythm of the film, breaking the norm becomes deliberately stacking, and the concept comes first. "Cliff Walkers" is obviously rhythmic and fails to achieve a coherent effect, especially Zhang Xianchen's arrest, followed by Zhou Yi's identity revealed; followed by Wang Yu and Chu Liang's explanation of how to release the opponent is fake, which involves the opening scene in an execution scene at that time, Xie Zirong, played by Lei Jiayin, was sentenced to change, and later on the train, he deleted the secret code Zhang Xianchen left to Wang Yu. Unfortunately, Wang Yu knew her husband's thoughts very well, so it was certain that the connector was an enemy pretending to be. In fact, as the first half of a wartime spy film, the layout, details and character design are quite good. Until Zhang Xianchen was arrested, Zhou Yi stepped up to the "front stage" and returned to the paradigm of the TV series "The Cliff". Is this Quan Yongxian or Zhang Yimou's intention? The change of tune, a bit disrupted the rhythm of the film. Followed down, Zhou Yi and his boss Gao Bin (played by Ni Dahong), Yu Aile, Jin Zhide (played by Li Naiwen) and Lu Ming's offensive and defensive battle. Among them, Zhou Yi and Xiao Lan wanted to deliver operational intelligence at the Asia Cinema, which was already famous in China at that time, and was showing the classic Charles Chaplin's film "The Gold Rush" (1925) on the screen, also the most classic bread dance scene, it can be said that it took a lot of effort.
The secret operation in the film is to save the survivor Wang Ziyang who escaped from the Beiyinhe experimental site. This part is the only real-life element of the film. This experimental site is the predecessor of the famous 731 Army experimental site. The Beiyinhe experimental site was established in 1932, also known as Zhongma City, because the captain in charge was called Zhongma (Nakama). In September 1934, Wang Ziyang led more than a dozen people to escape the testing ground, and in 1936 exposed the atrocities of the Japanese army at the Comintern. Wang Yu and Xiao Lan went to the Bulgarian consulate to escape Wang Ziyang from Harbin. Why did the Bulgarian consulate appear under the control of the puppet Manchuria? In fact, the Bulgarian government at that time was a regime allied with Nazi Germany, and it was liberated as an ally of the former Soviet Union after World War II.
The scene in the consulate, the chase scene between Qin Hailu and Li Naiwen, can still maintain the standard, but the completion of this task is not as thrilling and dangerous as expected. This film will inevitably be compared with "The Message" (2009) directed by Chen Kuo-Fu and Gao Qunshu 12 years ago. If it is evaluated in the genre of a wartime spy film, "The Message" is quite complete from the structure to the film. Some comments pointed out that Zhang Yimou put the focus of "Cliff Walkers" not on the task, but on the human nature of the characters. In particular, Zhang Xianchen and Wang Yu were looking for their lost children. In the end, Zhang Xianchen sacrificed, and Zhou Yi fulfilled his last wish and sent the children back to Wang Yu. Perhaps, this is the director's intention, but unfortunately, genre films have a certain degree of norms, unless you completely smash it to pieces and then rebuild, or do some kind of major surgery within the framework, it will disrupt its pattern and rhythm, affecting "Cliff Walkers" is an excellent example of the overall performance of the film.
By Kam Po LAM (original in Chinese)
Since Zhang Yimou's "Hero" (2002) 19 years ago, genre films have been provoking his creativity from time to time In fact, as early as the early days of his debut, he directed the action film "Codename Cougar" (1989), and the success of "Hero" has an intention to break out of a genre, sometimes obvious, sometimes hidden. "Cliff Walkers" as his first wartime spy film, also has an attempt to break through the limitations of the genre. In addition to the texture of live-action shooting as well as the carefully conceived pictures and mise-en-scene, he divided the two male protagonists of the film into the upper and lower half of the film, this is also where many people criticize the film.
The concept of "Cliff Walkers" originated from the original novel "Horvat Street" by screenwriter Quan Yongxian, and was later adapted into the TV series "The Cliff", which was released in 2012, starring Zhang Jiayi and Song Jia. In Harbin during the puppet Manchuria period, the agent Zhou Yi played by Zhang Jiayi was lurking in the Secret Service Section of the National Police Agency, fighting wits with his superiors Gao Bin and Japanese military police, which was very popular. The name of the novel comes from the main street in Harbin, namely the current Zhongshan Road, formerly known as Horvat Street, which commemorates the Tsarist general Dmitry Horvat who built the Chinese Eastern Railway when Harbin was under the jurisdiction of Tsarist Russia. This old street has long been completely changed, but the film has created this old street that many Northeastern Chinese miss, which is also one of the selling points and features of the film. The film takes place in 1934 and is a prequel to the TV series. Zhou Yi is replaced by Yu Hewei, but the first part of the film is to explain the process of the four-member group "Utrennya" (meaning dawn in Russian) entering Harbin. The opening scene, the four of them were parachuted over the snowy forest in the northeast of China, and an overlook shot, quite pleasing to the eye. The plot follows the four people from the snow to the train to Harbin. Zhang Xianchen played by Zhang Yi and a new generation of "Zhang's actress" Liu Haocun play Xiao Lan, and the other group is Qin Hailu who plays Zhang Xianchen's wife Wang Yu and Xiao Lan's boyfriend, Zhu Yawen, palyed by Chu Liang. The two groups of people on the train, fighting with the agents of the Secret Service, from the rhythm of the plot to the details of the script, are a good example of a wartime spy movie. However, when Zhang Xianchen pretended to be a secret service officer to defraud another pair of passengers for the tickets, he got off the train separately from Xiao Lan, obviously creating an action scene for Liu Haocun to show off her skills. But this delicate girl, despite how hard she tried to perform, was still unconvincing, especially when she was surrounded and shot between the tracks, but did not alert other personnel, and managed to escape into the city smoothly.
For this "Zhang-actress", Liu Haocun in "One Second" played a wild child who went to snatch the film with the actor Zhang Yi for his younger brother. It was quite eye-catching. In addition to Zhang Yi's full-strength performance, the film was well received. However, when Zhang Yimou returned to genre films, he was once again criticized by various parties. This phenomenon has not escaped this "doom" from the "flashy" of "Hero" in that year to the "luxurious decoration" of Cliff Walkers this year. This has something to do with Zhang Yimou's artistic directorial style, which is too deep-rooted. When he handles genre films with his personal style and ability, there are no more or no less in order to break through or break down the routines and barriers of certain genre films. To be able to "reach the standard", breaking the routine becomes disrupting the rhythm of the film, breaking the norm becomes deliberately stacking, and the concept comes first. "Cliff Walkers" is obviously rhythmic and fails to achieve a coherent effect, especially Zhang Xianchen's arrest, followed by Zhou Yi's identity revealed; followed by Wang Yu and Chu Liang's explanation of how to release the opponent is fake, which involves the opening scene in an execution scene at that time, Xie Zirong, played by Lei Jiayin, was sentenced to change, and later on the train, he deleted the secret code Zhang Xianchen left to Wang Yu. Unfortunately, Wang Yu knew her husband's thoughts very well, so it was certain that the connector was an enemy pretending to be. In fact, as the first half of a wartime spy film, the layout, details and character design are quite good. Until Zhang Xianchen was arrested, Zhou Yi stepped up to the "front stage" and returned to the paradigm of the TV series "The Cliff". Is this Quan Yongxian or Zhang Yimou's intention? The change of tune, a bit disrupted the rhythm of the film. Followed down, Zhou Yi and his boss Gao Bin (played by Ni Dahong), Yu Aile, Jin Zhide (played by Li Naiwen) and Lu Ming's offensive and defensive battle. Among them, Zhou Yi and Xiao Lan wanted to deliver operational intelligence at the Asia Cinema, which was already famous in China at that time, and was showing the classic Charles Chaplin's film "The Gold Rush" (1925) on the screen, also the most classic bread dance scene, it can be said that it took a lot of effort.
The secret operation in the film is to save the survivor Wang Ziyang who escaped from the Beiyinhe experimental site. This part is the only real-life element of the film. This experimental site is the predecessor of the famous 731 Army experimental site. The Beiyinhe experimental site was established in 1932, also known as Zhongma City, because the captain in charge was called Zhongma (Nakama). In September 1934, Wang Ziyang led more than a dozen people to escape the testing ground, and in 1936 exposed the atrocities of the Japanese army at the Comintern. Wang Yu and Xiao Lan went to the Bulgarian consulate to escape Wang Ziyang from Harbin. Why did the Bulgarian consulate appear under the control of the puppet Manchuria? In fact, the Bulgarian government at that time was a regime allied with Nazi Germany, and it was liberated as an ally of the former Soviet Union after World War II.
The scene in the consulate, the chase scene between Qin Hailu and Li Naiwen, can still maintain the standard, but the completion of this task is not as thrilling and dangerous as expected. This film will inevitably be compared with "The Message" (2009) directed by Chen Kuo-Fu and Gao Qunshu 12 years ago. If it is evaluated in the genre of a wartime spy film, "The Message" is quite complete from the structure to the film. Some comments pointed out that Zhang Yimou put the focus of "Cliff Walkers" not on the task, but on the human nature of the characters. In particular, Zhang Xianchen and Wang Yu were looking for their lost children. In the end, Zhang Xianchen sacrificed, and Zhou Yi fulfilled his last wish and sent the children back to Wang Yu. Perhaps, this is the director's intention, but unfortunately, genre films have a certain degree of norms, unless you completely smash it to pieces and then rebuild, or do some kind of major surgery within the framework, it will disrupt its pattern and rhythm, affecting "Cliff Walkers" is an excellent example of the overall performance of the film.
By Kam Po LAM (original in Chinese)
Good Spy Movie
Jeydie6 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Honestly, politics aside, Cliff Walker is a good movie that I actually really enjoyed. It's a mix of excitement and confusion because it's also about politics, particularly communist ideas. But if you ignore the politics, you'll have a good time watching it.
The best part of Cliff Walker is the spy stuff. The tension, risky missions, and suspense keep you interested. You'll feel like all these spies is constanly in danger and hard to trust anyone. Which makes me feels like, as a Spy Movie, it was well done. The movie's look is cool too, making the past feel real.
Sometimes, the characters do strange things that make you wonder why. And the ending feels kinda rushed, leaving things unexplained. It's just okay in that aspect. Another things that i dont get is why are the communist spy is couple and why is that the married spies left their child to be a spy? I literally dont get it or im actually just dumb.
Overall, i would recommend it to spy movie lovers, but i'd understand if they dont like it.
The best part of Cliff Walker is the spy stuff. The tension, risky missions, and suspense keep you interested. You'll feel like all these spies is constanly in danger and hard to trust anyone. Which makes me feels like, as a Spy Movie, it was well done. The movie's look is cool too, making the past feel real.
Sometimes, the characters do strange things that make you wonder why. And the ending feels kinda rushed, leaving things unexplained. It's just okay in that aspect. Another things that i dont get is why are the communist spy is couple and why is that the married spies left their child to be a spy? I literally dont get it or im actually just dumb.
Overall, i would recommend it to spy movie lovers, but i'd understand if they dont like it.
Great movie
ipual83119 June 2021
Don't mind the 2 star rating one. Had a quick browse on other films he/she reviewed - lols - obviously not much taste in film.
Great plot. Great actings. The whole point about spy is that spy doesn't have a "look". Yet with enough stereotypical film casting nowadays, there are people out there quickly pointing their fingers on the lead female actress not being "spy looking enough". Whatever the f that means.
Great plot. Great actings. The whole point about spy is that spy doesn't have a "look". Yet with enough stereotypical film casting nowadays, there are people out there quickly pointing their fingers on the lead female actress not being "spy looking enough". Whatever the f that means.
some feelings
j_movie31 July 2021
The most intuitive feeling is four words: Flowing Clouds and flowing water. If "one second" is an attempt to simplify the road, then "on the cliff" is its interesting control group. The relationship and motivation of the characters are complex, and there are foreshadows everywhere. If you miss a paragraph, it is easy to miss important information. More than 95% of the time is a string on the people's mind, The remaining five percent are composed of small humor that makes people laugh and warmth in troubled times. The two works show both sides of Zhang Yimou's character, calm restraint and compassion. Such creative vitality and acceptance of new themes are really admirable. The dawn after darkness is not necessarily the real dawn, but the glimmer in the darkness must be hot and sincere. There is room for the rise of spy war stories, and the one who breaks the ceiling is above the cliff.
A Profoundly Awful Film...
author-8870417 September 2021
Cliff Walkers is a profoundly awful film. Ironically, it gets deserved high marks for being visually stunning. It has great art direction, clean editing, and the casting is good. But everything tragically stops there. The plot is impossibly convoluted and so utterly ridiculously and needlessly intricate that it leaves zero room for even basic character development. Every character is essentially moving through beautiful shots, mindlessly double-crossing everyone else. And then there is the dumb stuff... like all the spies are given poison pills, but only AFTER they have started the dangerous mission. First they parachute into snow-covered wilderness, and THEN they are standing in knee-high snow distributing tiny white pills. Meanwhile, the spies are supposedly under constant direct surveillance by enemy agents, and yet repeatedly they escape various gun battles and knife fights. Lots of bullets fly and blood is drawn, but nobody important in the story dies from actually being shot in a gun battle, even if this could possibly advance the plot,and be... ya know... realistic... it's a spy cartoon masquerading as a serious film. And since everyone wears the same stylish black, and nobody is telling the truth, it's impossible to say who is working for whom. Some people will blame the impenetrable anti-plot on CCP (Chinese government) story censors. But don't kid yourself. There are MANY good films made in China in spite of CCP censors. This movie is NOT one of them. It's a sad tragic waste, a melodramatic empty vessel, a hollow gesture to the sacred honor of the subject it purports to idealize (the fight against WWII fascism). The blame for this film's utter failure rests squarely on the director and writer... and especially the producers who should have insisted on a script re-write. Don't waste your time on this movie.
Tense spy thriller
user-151595 May 2021
I enjoyed it a lot. It exceeded my expectations. Great twists. It revolves around a group of Chinese revolutionary agents sent to Harbin on a secret mission. However, the local security agency found out about them and got the passwords, so now the agents will meet counterintelligence imposters instead of their comrades. It's a tense movie, from start to finish. Well done.
A sufficiently interesting and suspenseful thriller with evocative production design and good direction by Yimou.
ma-cortes2 February 2024
Set in 1931, Japan invaded China and headed into World War II. The Japanese established secret camps in northeastern China, where horrible crimes were committed against the Chinese. This story takes place in these tortured lands. After suffering several problems with censorship, renowned Chinese filmmaker Yimou (Hero) directs this complex story of espionage and counterespionage, the director's first foray into this genre, set in the snowy cliffs of Manchuria. It was the puppet state of Manchuria (China) during the 1930s, under complete control of Japan and reigning the famous emperor Pu Yi. Dedicated to the heroes of the communist revolution, it centers on four special agents of the communist party who, after receiving training in the Soviet Union, return to China to carry out a dangerous secret assignment, but after being betrayed by an informer, the spies find themselves threatened since the beginning of the mission. After being sold by a traitor, the team finds themselves surrounded by threats on all sides from the moment they parachute into the mission.
Cliff Walkers (2021) shows a lot of violence, action, emotion, torture and fierce confrontations. This luxurious thriller was beautifully filmed with good production design, costumes evocative of the era it takes place in, luxurious cinematography and impressive set pieces. As is usual in Yimou's cinema, the film becomes a delight for the senses through successful recreations, a somber staging and very bright action scenes under constantly falling snow.
The film was a great box office success in China in 2022, although not in the rest of the world as happened in other films by this notable Chinese filmer, this is his first film in the spy genre. The film was convincingly directed by China's Zhang Yimou, who has firmly established himself as a distinguished filmmaker and producer whose recent films have generated millions at the Chinese box office. He created the "Zhang Ziyi Trilogy", which includes Hero (2002), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and House of Flying Daggers (2004).
Zhang Yimou is an excellent and veteran director whose films often explore the dark side of life in small rural Chinese communities. Most of his films begin with the title displayed in Chinese calligraphy style. He has achieved several hits, such as ¨The Curse of the Golden Flower¨, ¨The House of Flying Daggers¨, Hero¨, ¨The Road Home¨, ¨The Red Lantern¨, "Shanghai Triad", ¨Happy Times¨ , ¨Vivir¨, ¨Red Lantern¨, ¨Qiu Ju, a Chinese Woman¨ and winning several awards at various International Festivals. And adding this ambitious historical epic by Zhang Yimou ¨Cliff Walkers (2021). Rating: 6.5/10, above the average average, but not notable due to some disjointed scenes and sometimes being difficult to follow. Essential and indispensable view for Zhang Yimou's followers.
Cliff Walkers (2021) shows a lot of violence, action, emotion, torture and fierce confrontations. This luxurious thriller was beautifully filmed with good production design, costumes evocative of the era it takes place in, luxurious cinematography and impressive set pieces. As is usual in Yimou's cinema, the film becomes a delight for the senses through successful recreations, a somber staging and very bright action scenes under constantly falling snow.
The film was a great box office success in China in 2022, although not in the rest of the world as happened in other films by this notable Chinese filmer, this is his first film in the spy genre. The film was convincingly directed by China's Zhang Yimou, who has firmly established himself as a distinguished filmmaker and producer whose recent films have generated millions at the Chinese box office. He created the "Zhang Ziyi Trilogy", which includes Hero (2002), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and House of Flying Daggers (2004).
Zhang Yimou is an excellent and veteran director whose films often explore the dark side of life in small rural Chinese communities. Most of his films begin with the title displayed in Chinese calligraphy style. He has achieved several hits, such as ¨The Curse of the Golden Flower¨, ¨The House of Flying Daggers¨, Hero¨, ¨The Road Home¨, ¨The Red Lantern¨, "Shanghai Triad", ¨Happy Times¨ , ¨Vivir¨, ¨Red Lantern¨, ¨Qiu Ju, a Chinese Woman¨ and winning several awards at various International Festivals. And adding this ambitious historical epic by Zhang Yimou ¨Cliff Walkers (2021). Rating: 6.5/10, above the average average, but not notable due to some disjointed scenes and sometimes being difficult to follow. Essential and indispensable view for Zhang Yimou's followers.
Typical chinese communism movie
qqml19 December 2021
The topic is a typical Chinese communists theme, i.e., how nationalists persecuted them and communists sacrificed themselves to win the ruling of the country. The movie was directed by the famous director Zhang yimo, who did it for Chinese communist authority, which is understandable. The directing is ok, and the movie theme is quite tense from the beginning to the end. However, the actors/actresses are mediocre. The ending is also typical Chinese movie technique, i.e. Use crying and background music to stir up emotion of audience.
In war who can you trust?
deospam-049623 May 2022
The plot twists and turns in this movie of the Communists vs the puppet regime in Manchukuo. Set in December 1934, the story revolves around a true event.
The sets are lovingly and authentically created to reproduce the romance of the period. Attention to detail is evident even to ensuring the cinema calendar is correct. I had to watch and rewatch the movie so many times to link the clues and details.
Zhang's masterly cinematography would have certainly won him the Best Director Oscar had Jane Campion's Power of the Dog not been just as lush and powerful.
Excellent, really Excellent movie. This will be a hard act to follow.
The sets are lovingly and authentically created to reproduce the romance of the period. Attention to detail is evident even to ensuring the cinema calendar is correct. I had to watch and rewatch the movie so many times to link the clues and details.
Zhang's masterly cinematography would have certainly won him the Best Director Oscar had Jane Campion's Power of the Dog not been just as lush and powerful.
Excellent, really Excellent movie. This will be a hard act to follow.
Spies of you the apple of my eyes version
xiaohei-801125 May 2021
Plain story telling,awkward lines, wrong casting especially the girl who didn't look was Soviet union trained to me. She should be going to you the apple of my eyes studio but come wrongly to a spies studio. Story put about Country matter high at start,and yet end in a family and human feel which I find no connection. Messy chasing scene and yet the leader low IQ accuse the wrong person due to the strong evidence he ha.
Also called "Cliff Walkers"
iStudyintheUK15 May 2021
A film based on a TV series - XuanYa (Cliff). I think the meaning is quite obvious, considering it tells a story of special agents. Directed by Zhang Yimou, with a crew full of powerful actors. Especially Yu Hewei, for the character Zhou Yi. I cannot tell too much, otherwise it'd be spoiled, but his acting definitely reached to the master level in this film. He does have 20 some years of acting experiences with multi-direction roles.
The film was well made, intense plots, beautiful scenes, unexpected twists, perfect lines and intricate emotions. Every actor was on their best state with the cameras filming to its precision. It was no more no less.
I cannot praise it enough. Please go and watch!
The film was well made, intense plots, beautiful scenes, unexpected twists, perfect lines and intricate emotions. Every actor was on their best state with the cameras filming to its precision. It was no more no less.
I cannot praise it enough. Please go and watch!
Walking on thin ... cliffs(?)
kosmasp7 November 2022
No pun intended - and when you watch the movie to the end, you will get a feeling that something is missing ... or not told to the end. That is because there will be a sequel to this. I had no idea when I started watching this, that that was the case ... but it is what it is. I would have waited and watched this and the sequel together.
It looks like Zhang Yimou is also doing the sequel. And if that name means something to you (I reckon you came to this site because of him rather than the film title), than you know what to expect from a movie he directs. There is a reason a lot of his work is getting nominated for a lot of awards ... same is true for this one right here.
Tension is high and the visuals match the the story that is being told. There is enough thrill to keep you on the edge of your seat. Even if you do not have any clue what happened in real life (history and all that). We cannot know it all, can we? Maybe this will keep you interested in all things that surround this and maybe more about chinese history.
It looks like Zhang Yimou is also doing the sequel. And if that name means something to you (I reckon you came to this site because of him rather than the film title), than you know what to expect from a movie he directs. There is a reason a lot of his work is getting nominated for a lot of awards ... same is true for this one right here.
Tension is high and the visuals match the the story that is being told. There is enough thrill to keep you on the edge of your seat. Even if you do not have any clue what happened in real life (history and all that). We cannot know it all, can we? Maybe this will keep you interested in all things that surround this and maybe more about chinese history.
Loved it!!!
dx77777 May 2021
Very classical spy action flick
ivan_dmitriev14 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
...with nice pan and scan shots, colour and camera works and so on, based on several true stories, melded together. It's like watching ... Fargo come together with some Bridge of Spies and South by Southwest kinda ... very classic feel - the shortcomings are, well, in a classical movie about/featuring/having the backdrop of the WW2 atrocities essentially you can be violent and these days more violent - so the violence that there is in this movie already - that'd raise a few eyebrows in the 70ies and even in the 90ies, but you can't be realistically violent.
Mistakes:
dropping a clothed dead security officer out of the train window - that wouldn't happen at this time, they'd strip him naked first - to ensure he'd die and to slow down identification, as people - especially in the context of war and counterintelligence, used to be identified by their clothing back then
torturing people with electricity without taking any precautions with some amateur-looking electric chair contraption - the only torturing they'd be doing is being in that electric chair themselves, considering anything higher than 30 milliamps can be instantly deadly for a human and Japanese/Manchukuo killing their only counterintelligence source would instantly result in very bad stuff happening to the officer who would've killed him
very classical "spies sit together in a cinema" scene ... and other similar "mistakes" or rather - artistic choices based on the overall style.
Nice and definitely worth a rewatch.
Mistakes:
dropping a clothed dead security officer out of the train window - that wouldn't happen at this time, they'd strip him naked first - to ensure he'd die and to slow down identification, as people - especially in the context of war and counterintelligence, used to be identified by their clothing back then
torturing people with electricity without taking any precautions with some amateur-looking electric chair contraption - the only torturing they'd be doing is being in that electric chair themselves, considering anything higher than 30 milliamps can be instantly deadly for a human and Japanese/Manchukuo killing their only counterintelligence source would instantly result in very bad stuff happening to the officer who would've killed him
very classical "spies sit together in a cinema" scene ... and other similar "mistakes" or rather - artistic choices based on the overall style.
Nice and definitely worth a rewatch.
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