Synopsis
The Great Magician (大魔術師, 2011) is a Hong Kong period detective film you can watch online on iFILM. Director Derek Yee assembled Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Zhou Xun, and Daniel Wu for a story built on layered illusions and shifting loyalties.
China, shortly after the 1911 Revolution: the country has shattered into warlord fiefdoms. General Lei — forceful and oddly principled — is holding a young woman he wants as his seventh wife. She has no intention of marrying him. Her lover, long presumed gone, has quietly returned as a celebrated illusionist. What looks like a rescue turns out to be a chess match played by at least three parties at once, and none of them are showing their real hand.
The fun is in never quite knowing who is running which trick. Derek Yee keeps the tone light, the set pieces inventive, and the plot too clever to telegraph its last reveal. Stream The Great Magician online on iFILM.
Starring
Comments 0