Artfully crafted black and white posters for Zhang Yimou's "Shadow"

Whenever I think of Zhang Yimou movies, I imagine exuberant colors and fluid paintings. Shadow 影 seems to bring much of the filmmaker’s signature flair but in black and white. It has me wondering whether the movie will actually be in black and white (probably not), but the concept does fit perfectly with a story about a man living as a person’s shadow.

Deng Chao plays two roles as the man in broad daylight and as the shadow who acts as a human shield against assassins. Also in the cast are Betty Sun Li, Ryan Zhang Kai, Wang Qian Yuan, Hu Jun, Guan Xiao Tong, Leo Wu Lei and Wang Jing Chun. It seems like a solid lineup for a high profile movie, but surely, there must be someone like me who’s getting a kick out of having the cast of Running Man China plus their other halves in the same project.

Zhang Yimou’s last movie was The Great Wall, which in spite of the star-studded cast received negative feedback. I have a good feeling about this one though. It is scheduled to premiere Summer 2018.