REVIEW: ‘Hidden Blade’ Is A Beautiful, Sometimes Confusing Thrill

Directed and written by Chang Er, Hidden Blade is a hard-hitting spy thriller that constantly pushes its audiences. Hidden Blade brings audiences into a web of espionage and survival. During World War II, at the height of China’s war of resistance against Japan, a group of courageous citizens develop a top-secret underground espionage network right under the nose of the newly established puppet regime. At increasingly great peril to their own lives, the double agents masterfully extract classified information from deep behind enemy lines. This effort gives rise to the united front that will help turn the tide of the conflict.

Hidden Blade hits every note an espionage thriller needs. The characters are compelling, the setting is grand, and the objective of our heroes is one the viewer can’t root against. But by trying to showcase such an intricate system, the film stumbles in its pacing. The vignettes it uses to tell the story aren’t tied in place by a linear narrative. This sometimes causes confusion, especially as the sequencing choices dampen the emotional resonance of certain betrayals in the film.

That said, the film uses the vignettes to cause the confusion intentionally. It wants to flip where you put your trust at any given time and create a foundation of sand to sink into. But even with its self-aware choice to sew confusion, it leaves emotional holes in the story that aren’t fulfilled in the end. Despite that, there are two elements that keep you engaged even if the story begins to twist too sharply: the acting and the stunning visual language.

Tony Leung and Wang YiBo are showstopping. They’re emotional and hardened and do an extraordinary amount of storytelling through the silence in their performances as much as through dialogue. In direct opposition to each other, the film circles around each, showcasing every choice they make and order they give, culminating in a fantastic third act made possible only by how strong the two actors are when they collide. YiBo is undeniably menacing, a force that pulls you in with his attractiveness and charisma only to slit your throat. Leung is the empathetic thread throughout the film and continues to showcase why he has become a legend in cinema.

Visually, you won’t find a spy thriller more beautiful than Hidden Blade. Understanding how to use both wide-frame landscape shots, often with flags or landmarks dominating the frame, and tight close-ups, director Chang and cinematographer Ni Liao have crafted a stunning film. But the sets and cinematography are only one component. The visual beauty is also executed to perfection thanks to costumes that capture the elegant and the enchanting as much as the murderous and unthinkable.

When the film needs to be breathtaking in its visuals it succeeds, with some of the best cinematography I’ve seen. But it also succeeds when it needs to turn your stomach. In fact, there are more than a couple of scenes that are hard to watch. One scene in particulate shows the brutality of war against civilians as workers are drowned in cement. It’s a moment that is never cut away from. Instead, you see the bodies buried in it in excruciating detail. You have to witness the atrocity and Er refuses to allow you the comfort of cutting away. While the scenes are shot superbly, I found myself trying to turn away, but held there by the deft hands of Er and Liao.

Hidden Blade is a film that attempts to shock its audience, drilling home how terrifying and heartbreaking war is. It pushes you not to turn away from atrocities and pulls at your emotions every chance it gets. That said, while espionage and fighting back against oppressing forces is never just a linear action, Hidden Blade twists the story too many times that it begins to buckle under itself. As revelations happen over time, each new development gets lost in the last and muddied. That said, the visual beauty of the film and its performances make it well worth a trip to the theater.

Hidden Blade is playing now in select theaters.