During the Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty, four years after Yue Fei's death, Prime Minister Qin Hui has led his troops to negotiate with the Jurchen Jin dynasty. On the eve of the meeting, the Jurchen envoy is found dead at the Prime Minister's residence and the secret letter he carried disappears without a trace.
By chance, a soldier and the deputy commander of the security battalion are caught up in this great conspiracy. They are ordered by Prime Minister Qin Hui to locate the murderer within an hour, but things are not as they seem. In-depth investigations are fraught with danger, and ostensibly hidden behind the case there lurks an even bigger conspiracy.
A game within a game, there are forces at play, people's minds are unfathomable, life and death are unpredictable, a constant change of events overnight, the undercurrents of power are surging from all directions…
(Source: Translated from Douban)
Fresh from three recent releases in three years, One Second (2020), Cliff Walkers (2021) and Sniper (2022), and four years after winning Best Director for 2018's Shadow at the 55th Golden Horse Awards, Zhang Yimou proves he is unstoppable with another production scheduled for a Chinese New Year premiere in China on January 22, 2023.
Co-written with Chen Yu (Snipers), this historical suspense features a star-studded cast led by Shen Teng (Hi, Mom) with his Midas touch when it comes to box-office blockbusters as well as actor-of-the-moment Jackson Yee (The Battle at Lake Changjin movies), and consistent performer Lei Jiayin (A Writer's Odyssey). The latter two actors also co-starred in 2019's hit Youku drama The Longest Day in Chang-An.
