Back home

The Promise

131 votes

Producing House

An orphaned girl, driven by poverty at such a young age, makes a promise with an enchantress. In return for beauty and the admiration of every man, she will never be with the man she loves. This spell cannot be broken unless the impossible happens: snow falling in spring and the dead coming back to life. Now a grown and beautiful princess, she regrets her promise, for all of the men she's loved has always been met with tragedy.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 2005-12-15

Runtime: 121 mins

Director: Chen Kaige

Writer: Charcoal Tan, Chen Kaige

Spoken language: 普通话

Genres: Fantasy, Drama, Action, Thriller, Romance

Original title: The Promise

Production Companies: 21 Century Shengkai Film, Capgen Investment Group, China Film Group Corporation, Moonstone Entertainment, Warner Independent Pictures, Salon Films

Production Countries: China, Hong Kong, United States of America

Reviews

T

TheTenth
Two young kids try to scrounge food on a battlefield. The girl uses cunning to get a cake the boy found. As she flees with it she drops it in the water. A female spirit offers her a deal : if she never find happy love, she will never be hungry (= rich) again. She accepts. General Guangming (Hiroyuki Sanada) is victorious in battle once again. He meets the spirit (in human form) that tells him someone will kill the king and stain his honor. He is wounded but is rescued by a slave, Kunlun (Dong-Gun Jang). He sends him to the palace with order to save the king, describing him as the only one without a weapon. Confused, he kills the king and escapes with Qinsheng (Cecilia Cheung), they are surrounded by soldiers and agrees to jump off the cliff to save Qinsheng. General Guanming is faced by his soldiers and saved again by Kunlun. He meets Qinsheng and falls in love. This is a Chinese fairytale. The story is very simple, what's important here is the characters, what their choices lead to, and morale of the portagonists (even the "evil" characters). The movie is known as "The Promise" (as for the promise of the little girl) or "Legend of the wind riders" (the tribe Kunlun comes from). There is some Wuxia elements, with incredible sword fights, incredible jumps and races ... Director Chen Kaige uses very bright colors that bring intensity and life to the movie, either using the scenery or costumes to this effect. The main characters, Kunlun and Qinsheng, are victims of fate and can only try to do their best of the situation. There is mostly drama here, with good hearted characters trying to keep their honor and follow their heart and aspirations until their last breath. Remarkable movie.
2018-04-25

Recommendations

Babette's Feast
3.6

Babette's Feast

1987-08-11

A French housekeeper with a mysterious past brings quiet revolution in the form of one exquisite mea

Dungeons & Dragons
2.2

Dungeons & Dragons

2000-12-08

The Empire of Izmer is a divided land: elite magicians called “mages” rule while lowly commoners are

Crimes and Misdemeanors
3.7

Crimes and Misdemeanors

1989-10-13

A renowned ophthalmologist is desperate to cut off an adulterous relationship…which ends up in murde

Quo Vadis
3.5

Quo Vadis

1951-11-08

After fierce Roman commander Marcus Vinicius becomes infatuated with beautiful Christian hostage Lyg

Gallipoli
3.5

Gallipoli

1981-08-13

Two Australian sprinters face the brutal realities of war when they are sent to fight in the Gallipo

The Emperor's New Clothes
3.1

The Emperor's New Clothes

1961-05-28

The adaptation of Hans Cristian Andersen's tale filmed on a white background. It is also the first C

Pazzo - A Short Film
4

Pazzo - A Short Film

2023-07-25

Dirty War
1.3

Dirty War

1984-01-01

Paul, a mercenary in Africa, decides that he can no longer work for the Organization because of thei

The Last Boy Scout
3.4

The Last Boy Scout

1991-12-13

Somewhere in Los Angeles, the city of broken dreams, a stripper is murdered. Now, the private detect

In the Line of Fire
3.5

In the Line of Fire

1993-07-08

Veteran Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan is a man haunted by his failure to save President Kenned

2 Days in the Valley
3.1

2 Days in the Valley

1996-09-11

In a sleepy bedroom community of LA's San Fernando Valley, the murder of a professional athlete by t

The Twins Effect II
2.6

The Twins Effect II

2004-08-12

Set in Flower Capital, a land ruled by an Evil Queen. All men in the kingdom are slaves to women. Ho

Bad Attitude
0

Bad Attitude

1993-12-01

Eddie Johnson is looking for a new line of work. He's a battle-scarred undercover cop, working in a

The Visitors
3.5

The Visitors

1993-01-27

After a wizard's spell goes awry, 12th-century Gallic knight Godefroy de Papincourt, Count of Montmi

The Emperor's New Groove
3.8

The Emperor's New Groove

2000-12-15

Emperor Kuzco is turned into a llama by his ex-administrator Yzma, and must now regain his throne an

Intolerable Cruelty
3

Intolerable Cruelty

2003-10-10

A revenge-seeking gold digger marries a womanizing Beverly Hills lawyer with the intention of making

Into the Night
3.3

Into the Night

1985-02-22

Ed Okin used to have a boring life. He used to have trouble getting to sleep. Then one night, he met

Memories of Murder
4

Memories of Murder

2003-04-25

A sadistic serial rapist and murderer of young women terrorizes a small province in 1980s South Kore

Revolver Lily
3.5

Revolver Lily

2023-08-11

In 1924 Yuri killed 57 people as a spy before going underground as the madam of a small brothel. The

Kagemusha
3.9

Kagemusha

1980-04-26

Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersona