The Lost Bladesman
Based almost two thousand years ago, The Lost Bladesman tells the story of Guan Yu – a master fighter who played a huge part in the civil war that led to the collapse of the infamous Han Dynasty. Dealing with personal fate, power and rebellion, The Lost Bladesman is told through impressive style and fittingly epic visuals.
The films opens with the grand burial ceremony of Guan Yu (Donnie Yen) before flashing back twenty years to a camp where he is being held prisoner by warlord Cao Cao (Jiang Wen), who is determined to keep Guan Yu as his own warrior, offering him gifts for his loyalty. With no luck, Cao Cao orders Guan Yu’s release with strong opposition from his own men, fearing that he would be a threat. But during Guan Yu’s journey back to his sworn brother Liu Bei, he must cross five passes and slay six generals as he encounters numerous confrontations with Cao Cao’s men. Within this storyline there is a continual struggle in Guan Yu, who is a warrior that is ultimately desperate for peace.
From the outset of The Lost Bladesman it is obvious that, like many larger-budget films in Hong Kong action or wuxia cinema, the visuals are stunning with a wonderful aesthetic that really captures the mysticism of Guan Yu’s ancient story. There is a great interchange between the warrior Guan Yu is, and the man he wants to be, which provides much of the dramatic conflict in the film. The young fiance of Liu Bei, Qilan (Betty Sun), stands as Guan Yu’s object of desire and travels alongside him throughout the film, providing an unexpected twist at the end of the film.
The downpoint of The Lost Bladesman is certainly that the story is ripe for a trilogy; at points it seemed that Mak and Chong were trying too hard to cram the action into the film’s 107 minutes, and as a result the story is rather uncontextualised. Offering barely any background knowledge of the civil war or the feud between Emperor Xian and Dong Zhuo, the film is really just one man’s story against a backdrop of unexplained battles and assasination attempts, which is a shame because the actual story is a fascinating one.
For those who are unfamiliar with Hong Kong action or martial arts movies, I would not claim The Lost Bladesman to be the best. But once you get past the insane complicated web of names, warlords and civil war movements – it is a well acted, beautifully crafted film with a solid storyline that will certainly keep you entertained.
The Lost Bladesman is a 2011 Hong Kong film adapted from the story of Guan Yu crossing five passes and slaying six generals in Luo Guanzhong’s historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It stars Donnie Yen as Guan, who also served as the film’s action director. Written and directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong. Filming began in March 2010 and wrapped up on 30 June 2010
The film opens with a scene of Cao Cao attending Guan Yu’s funeral – Guan’s decapitated head is buried with a wooden statue in place of his body. The scene then flashbacks to 20 years ago: Guan Yu had been separated from his sworn brother Liu Bei, and he temporarily served Cao Cao while he waited for news of Liu’s whereabouts. At the Battle of Baima between Cao Cao and his rival, Yuan Shao, Guan Yu slew Yuan’s general Yan Liang and lifted the siege on Baima. As a reward, Cao Cao recommended that the emperor grant Guan Yu the title of “Marquis of Hanshou” (漢壽亭侯) and promote him to the rank of a lieutenant general (偏將軍).
Liu Bei’s family and his concubine, Qilan, were staying in Cao Cao’s territory together with Guan Yu. Cao Cao constantly presented Guan Yu with precious gifts, hoping that the general will be touched and decide to remain by his side, but Guan refused to renounce his loyalty to Liu Bei. When there were news that Liu Bei had sought refuge under Yuan Shao, Guan Yu negotiated with Cao Cao to release Liu Bei’s family, and Cao agreed, while Qilan remained behind with Guan. As Cao Cao was aware that Guan Yu was secretly in love with Qilan, he tricked Guan into consuming food spiked with aphrodisiac, in hope that Guan would express his feelings to Qilan and rape her as she was put under paralysis. However, Guan Yu managed to remain rational and did not take his sworn brother’s concubine for himself. He and Qilan made preparations to leave Cao Cao after he knew Liu Bei’s whereabouts from a messenger sent by Liu Bei himself.