Shadow (Ying)

Every supremely controlled stylistic element of Zhang Yimou's breathtakingly beautiful "Shadow" is an echo of another, a motif repeated, a pattern recurring in a fractionally different way each time.

This is probably the most stunningly beautiful Zhang has made to date.

Shadow is a sumptuous sensory feast filled with spectacle, surprise, and madness.

A visually ravishing tale of intrigue and deception that stands proudly alongside [Zhang's] past triumphs Hero and House of Flying Daggers.

Zhang seems more taken with the chichi set decoration than the bodies posed in front of it.

There's romance and melodrama in Shadow, and while it's less emphasized than in Zhang's other wuxia films, it pairs well with the Machiavellian intrigue.

The film's rain-soaked moodiness has genuine gravity and the fight choreography is inventive.

It's a marvel to see auteur Zhang Yimou return with another wuxia epic, over a decade after his last, and approach it in a dazzlingly different way.

Zhang is seriously gifted at combining eye-catching imagery with darkly engaging stories. And this film is packed with sequences that take the breath away.

A beautiful, thrilling return to form.

"Shadow" is an elegant Chinese ink brush painting.

[A] crunching martial arts barn-burner.