''Sacrifice'' is a 2010 Chinese historical drama film directed by

Chen Kaige Chen Kaige ( zh, s=陈凯歌, link=no; born 12 August 1952) is a Chinese filmmaker. A leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese directors, Chen is known for his visual flair and epic storytelling.Berry, Michael (2002). "Chen Kaige: His ...

, starring

Ge You Ge You (born April 19, 1957) is a Chinese actor. One of the most critically acclaimed performers in China, Ge is known for his signature bald head, comic timing, and intelligent, subtle acting. Ge became the first Asian actor to win the Best A ...

Wang Xueqi Wang Xueqi (; born 19 March 1946) is a Chinese film actor whose career has spanned over 25 years. He was often cast in early Fifth Generation films, such as Chen Kaige's ''Yellow Earth'' (1984) and '' The Big Parade'' (1986), Huang Jianxin's '' ...

Huang Xiaoming Huang Xiaoming or Mark Huang ( zh, s=黄晓明, p=Huáng Xiǎomíng, born 13 November 1977) is a Chinese actor and singer. Huang rose to prominence for playing Emperor Wu of Han in the television series '' The Prince of Han Dynasty'' (2001), foll ...

Fan Bingbing Fan Bingbing (, born 16 September 1981) is a Chinese actress. After gaining recognition for the costume drama '' My Fair Princess'' (1998–1999), Fan's breakthrough came with Feng Xiaogang's blockbuster '' Cell Phone'' (2003), which won her th ...

and

Vincent Zhao Vincent Zhao Wenzhuo ( Chinese: 赵文卓; born 10 April 1972), sometimes credited as Vincent Chiu or Chiu Man-cheuk, is a Chinese actor and martial artist. He is best known for portraying Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung in both film and televisi ...

. It is based on the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

play '' The Orphan of Zhao'' by Ji Junxiang. It was distributed in the United States by

Samuel Goldwyn Films Samuel Goldwyn Films, LLC is an American film company that licenses, releases and distributes art-house, independent and foreign films. It was founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the Hollywood business magnate/mogul, Samuel Goldwyn. Th ...

Plot

The story is set in Jin, a

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

under the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

, during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. The Zhao clan, led by Chancellor Zhao Dun and his son General Zhao Shuo, are in a power struggle against General Tu'an Gu. Tu'an Gu secretly murders the Duke of Jin, frames the Zhao clan for the murder, and then uses that as an excuse to execute the entire Zhao clan. The sole survivor of the Zhao clan is Zhao Shuo's infant son, Zhao Wu, whose mother is the Duke's elder sister, Lady Zhuang. Lady Zhuang pleads with Tu'an Gu's subordinate, Han Jue, to spare her child. She then instructs Cheng Ying, a physician, to bring the child to Gongsun Chujiu, a friend of the Zhao clan, before committing suicide. When Tu'an Gu learns that Zhao Wu has evaded him, he slashes his sword at Han Jue's face in anger and disfigures him. Then, he orders his men to seal the gates and gather all the newborn babies in the city, believing that whoever is hiding Zhao Wu will not hand him over and hence making it easier to identify Zhao Wu. After Cheng Ying brings Zhao Wu home, his wife hands over the baby to Tu'an Gu. Cheng Ying then asks Gongsun Chujiu to bring his wife and his son (disguised as Zhao Wu) out of the city, while he stays behind to try to save the real Zhao Wu from Tu'an Gu. When Tu'an Gu finds Cheng Ying suspicious, Cheng Ying lies that Zhao Wu has been taken out of the city by Gongsun Chujiu. Tu'an Gu then leads his men to Gongsun Chujiu's house and finds Cheng Ying's wife and son there. Mistaking Cheng Ying's son for Zhao Wu, Tu'an Gu kills the infant along with Gongsun Chujiu and Cheng Ying's wife. Devastated by the loss of his family, Cheng Ying swears vengeance on Tu'an Gu. He pretends to pledge allegiance to Tu'an Gu and brings Zhao Wu along with him and raises the child in Tu'an Gu's house. Tu'an Gu mistakenly believes that Zhao Wu is Cheng Ying's son and adopts Zhao Wu as his godson. Zhao Wu grows up under Tu'an Gu's care and develops a close bond with his godfather. Meanwhile, Cheng Ying becomes close friends with the disfigured Han Jue and they secretly plot to help Zhao Wu avenge the Zhao clan. One day, Cheng Ying breaks the truth to Zhao Wu, telling him that Tu'an Gu, who has been a fatherly figure to him for the past 15 years, is responsible for murdering the Zhao clan. Initially unable to believe what he has heard, Zhao Wu ultimately accepts the truth after hearing from Han Jue about how Cheng Ying sacrificed his own son to save him. When Zhao Wu and Cheng Ying finally confront Tu'an Gu, Tu'an Gu reveals that he has known all along who Zhao Wu is because he notices a resemblance between Zhao Wu and Zhao Shuo. Zhao Wu duels with Tu'an Gu but is no match for the latter. At a critical moment, Cheng Ying sacrifices himself to give Zhao Wu an opportunity to stab and kill Tu'an Gu. As Cheng Ying succumbs to his wounds, he has a vision of himself reuniting with his family.

Cast

as Cheng Ying *

as Tu'an Gu *

Zhang Fengyi Zhang Fengyi (born 1 September 1956) is a Chinese actor best known for his role as "Duan Xiaolou" in ''Farewell My Concubine (film), Farewe ...

as Gongsun Chujiu *

as Zhao Shuo *

as Lady Zhuang *

as Han Jue *

Bao Guo'an Bao Guo'an (born 4 June 1946) is a Chinese actor and professor in the Central Academy of Drama. Best known for his role as Cao Cao in the 1994 television series ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms (TV series), Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', Bao wo ...

as Zhao Dun * Peng Bo as the Duke of Jin * Wang Han William and Zhao Wenhao portray Zhao Wu, the Orphan of Zhao, during his teenage years and early adolescence, respectively. * Hai Qing as Cheng Ying's wife

References

External links

* *
''Sacrifice''
on Sina.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Sacrifice 2010 films Chinese historical films 2010s Mandarin-language films Films set in the Spring and Autumn period Films directed by Chen Kaige Wuxia films The Orphan of Zhao Films set in Shanxi 2010s historical films Chinese historical drama films 2010s Chinese films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links