Sacrifice

R

Released Jul 27, 2012

2h 6m

History

Drama

List

70%

23 Reviews

Tomatometer

49%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In ancient China, Gen. Tu-Angu (Wang Xueqi), jealous of his king's preference for Gen. Zhao Shuo, kills his rival and wipes out the entire Zhao clan, save for one newborn. Dr. Cheng (Ge You), who delivered the child, protects him and raises him as his own. Cheng names the boy Cheng Bo and hopes to use him as an instrument of revenge against Tu-Angu, for Cheng's own wife and newborn son were victims of the general's crusade against the Zhao family.

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Audience Member

Great sets, great costumes and quality acting. However, the story is not unique, and the pacing is unnecessarily slow and drawn out. It simply does not draw out the type of emotion that will carry the movie to its end.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A doctor attempts to save the last child in a clan being slaughtered by a ruthless enemy, and in doing so sacrifices his own child. He vows to raise the orphan as his own, and then put the child on a path of revenge when he is old enough. The movie has a nice slow methodical pace, making the allegiances sway back and forth. But most of the movie is just talking with no action, so it picks up in the finale but doesn't get anywhere too cinematic. The acting is solid and the story is decent, so its a decent drama with very little martial arts. Its more focused on character dynamics.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A riveting story as rich and complex as a Shakespearian tale!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

walter m

To make a long story short, Tu Angu(Xueqi Wang) pulls off the perfect murder by not only murdering the grand councillor and getting away with it, but also framing the Zhao clan, condemning every last one of them to death. That is with the exception of the one just delivered by Cheng Ying(You Ge). In the following confusion, that baby gets confused with Cheng's. After which, Cheng's wife, son and a couple of other people die but the infant Xhao makes it out of there alive, as Cheng raises him as his own, waiting for the day when he can tell him the truth. To its credit, "Sacrifice" seeks to intelligently explore such important themes as loyalty, family and identity in a handsomely produced format. So, it is a shame that the movie is so very awkwardly edited. First, there is the set-up that pretty much goes on forever, with its focus on soon-to-be irrelevant details of court politics and even might double back on itself at one point. And then after that, the movie just sort of sits there, endlessly dragging towards its obviously painful conclusion and therefore wasting any kind of dramatic potential in the bargain.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A heart-wrenching, and brilliant story, with incredible acting. For drama lovers, not action lovers...even though there was plenty enough of that for me, too. I had no idea that this was directed by the same man (Kaige Chen) that was responsible for The Emperor and the Assassin, and Farewell My Concubine...both excellent movies. No wonder I enjoyed this so much. :)

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The message of the story was delivered well, the storyline was very unpredictable, .....not Kaige Chen's masterpiece, but it is worth watching....

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

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Chen Kaige

Director

You Ge

Cheng Ying

Wang Xue-Qi

Gen. Tu-Angu

Huang Xiaoming

Han Ju

Fan Bingbing

Zhuang Ji

Hai Qing

Cheng's Wife

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Critics Consensus: The Watch Falls Down On the Job

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Mark Jenkins

Washington Post

With its widescreen compositions and flame-illuminated interiors, "Sacrifice" is visually entrancing. Yet the movie is not just an exercise in style.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 26, 2012

Full Review

Mark Olsen

Los Angeles Times

It is handsomely done and well-acted, but it lacks real energy or purpose.

Rated: 2.5/5

Jul 26, 2012

Full Review

Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

Perhaps it's all that armor, or that even the estimable Mr. Wang seems exhausted by the film's dolorous themes, but it's tough to care about characters who spend most of their lives obsessing over the violent deaths of others.

Rated: 2/5

Jul 26, 2012

Full Review

Louis Proyect

rec.arts.movies.reviews

Both a thrilling swordplay epic as well as an intimate chamber drama about clashing filial loyalties.

Jul 27, 2012

Full Review

Todd Jorgenson

Cinemalogue

The visuals from Chen and his crew are striking.

Jul 27, 2012

Full Review

Kirk Honeycutt

honeycuttshollywood.com

The master's touch is evident throughout a carefully calibrated drama that builds to a shocking tragedy.

Rated: 7

Jul 26, 2012

Full Review

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Synopsis

In ancient China, Gen. Tu-Angu (Wang Xueqi), jealous of his king's preference for Gen. Zhao Shuo, kills his rival and wipes out the entire Zhao clan, save for one newborn. Dr. Cheng (Ge You), who delivered the child, protects him and raises him as his own. Cheng names the boy Cheng Bo and hopes to use him as an instrument of revenge against Tu-Angu, for Cheng's own wife and newborn son were victims of the general's crusade against the Zhao family.

Director: Chen Kaige
Producer: Ren Zhonglun, Long Qiuyun
Screenwriter: Chen Kaige, Gao Xuan, Ren Baoru, Zhao Ningyu
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Company
Production Co: TIK Films, Shanghai Film Group, Stellar Megamedia, 21 Century Shengkai Film
Rating: R (Some Violent Content)
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 27, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 11, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $27.9K
Runtime: 2h 6m

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