Wuliang (2020)

A lot of interesting ideas but not enough time to develop them

This short wuxia movie (only 37 minutes) is a mine of good ideas. A powerful sutra that could wreak havoc in the martial world is hidden on the body of a blind boy, who is being chased by enemies eager to seize power for themselves. Unfortunately, there is not enough time to develop this interesting storyline.

I like the cast performance, they did a good job conveying the development of the main relationship. I was not that invested emotionally but I think it might be due to the lack of time as well as the fact that I guessed properly the central elements rather than because of the acting.

The music was not that memorable but still nice and suitable for the movie. The production was very good: there were some striking fight sequences.

I would recommend this movie to people that are looking for a short wuxia movie. If you need a bite-size watch, this is clearly a good choice if you do not expect too much from it. In the same vein, I liked (even better) "Painted Skin: The Guo Jingming Edition", so if you enjoyed that one, you might want to give "Wuliang" a shot.

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Despite such a beautiful story, I did not find it successful due to its interrupted narration. I think it was cut short, but it didn't quite convey what was meant to be told. Despite all their good intentions and efforts, the actors seem to have failed to deliver what they wanted. It says fighting world, but we were able to watch one fight scene. He was half. Everything was half. So are transitions. I couldn't taste it. I don't understand. I wish the story had been kept longer. I wish it was a longer feature film. If more experienced players played. If only it could be diversified with a larger group of players. I wish there were more fight scenes. How nice would that be. But it didn't suit me.

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Atmospheric

Wuliang is a small masterpiece. From story to acting, it exceeded my expectations in so many ways, and the twist in the end, while expected, made me happy with its wholesomeness.

When I saw that this movie is only forty minutes long, I was skeptical that it would manage to develop its intriguing premise. I was pleasantly surprised – the script does not waste even a second of its screentime. The two main characters are fleshed out well, and the plot is brought to a satisfying conclusion. This movie would have been brilliant if it was longer, but it is still great the way it is. As someone who likes wuxia, but does not have the time to watch fifty episodes, I appreciate its conciseness.

In terms of chemistry between the main characters, this story is a match for The Untamed and Word of Honor. The Chinese have become masters of introducing obvious homoerotic subtexts to friendships and selling them as bromances. Po Xiao and Feng Ren are so obviously queercoded that calling what they have a bromance is difficult.

Overall, if you like wuxia and BL series without kissing, you will enjoy this movie. Uniquely atmospheric, it also has beautiful cinematography and gorgeous actors.

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Good Enough

Chinese Mini Movie "Wuliang" is a short fantasy film that manages to squize in just half an hour a new fantasy storyline, present the characters and give them a journey quest together.

The drama has a pretty interesting fantasy element which would have been better presented in a longer movie or even a series. Still, the CGI were good, the costumes perfect and the setting just right for the story.

The performances were pretty intense as well, and well handled. The main leads did a great job with their characters and displayed a plethora of emotions.

However, the ending was a bit just meh compared to the rest of the movie and kind of cringey. However, the rest of the movie was spot on.

So, overall, 7 out of 10.

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Completely stunned

I liked the lead actor since he was a kid, from boyhood to this movie. Really, it made me cry and I rarely cry and the only other 3 dramas were the untamed, love and redemption and love between fairy and devil. The acting and visuals were superb and is 100% worth watching.I have never seen such stunning and touching acting in movies and Ding cheng xi grew up so much. I absolutely love him. The other actor also put in tremendous effort to convey his emotions and he certainly succeeded in making me a fan of his. Over all the movie was well and I gave it 9.0 rating, the second highest one I had given, with the first one given to the untamed

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"A" for Storyline and Production, "B" for Bromance!

A quote that reminds of Po Xiao and Feng Ren’s relationship is from The Book of Zhuang Zi, written by writer and Daoist philosopher of the Zhuang Zi (c. 369-286 BC) from the Warring States period: "君子之交淡如水," translated as "a gentleman’s friendship is as clear / light as water, meaning that gentlemen maintain relations with those who share the same ideals as them. As the quote suggests, such relationships are light and pure as water, with both parties sharing a sense of unyielding loyalty towards one another.

For a 37 min movie, you’d typically expect an awkwardly paced, rushed, or even poorly executed plot. However, the story didn’t feel forcibly "condensed," and actually made sense. Additionally, the flow of events was nice and the cinematography was top-notch, despite its budget. The movie also had some pretty awesome action scenes with fluid choreography.

In addition, the two leads had great chemistry and characterization was done very well. Surprisingly, the plot managed to pack some unexpected twists under its belt and was rather melodramatic at times too . Also, the dramas pacing was done very well, didn’t feel rushed, and the plot was executed flawlessly.

All in all, fans of wuxia and bromance mustn’t skimp out on this!

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The beauty of pain is virtuous

Love, longing, pain and virtue.

The story of a blind boy Po Xiao who has the boundless heart sutra tattooed on his body and a guard Feng Ren tasked to protect him. The setting of this short film is beautiful and exquisite but the most important thing is the way it portrays emotions. Two forlorn boys alone in this world find comfort in each other.

I adore the melancholic theme of this film, it tugs on your heartstring perfectly. The amount of plot twists this film managed to fit into just 37 minutes is beyond me. The story surprisingly does not feel rushed, instead it has a well written ending.

A bit about the actor Ding Chengxin. He is apparently a singer and not a professional actor. But his acting is impeccable, he plays the role of being blind to such perfection you feel worried for him. The emotions portrayed seem genuine and heartfelt. And he is really good looking. This young actor has a very rare face. I seldom see someone so beautiful as if their features were drawn with a brush. Upturned eyebrows and peach blossom eyes, he indeed fits the description of the most beautiful men in Xianxia novels. I really want to see him in more xianxia/historical dramas or films.

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This Chinese bromance, highly rated on MDL and balancing on the border between a short and a feature film, did not leave me cold and I especially appreciated the two main actors (19 and 23 years old), but also the music, processing and set. A very good experience and I include this short among feature films. It's a real shame that in China, gay themes in filmmaking are now under wraps thanks to one single, infallible red party. When I imagine the variety from Taiwan and how much 1.4 billion China could bring us, because there are thousands of unawakened creators smoldering there, who would certainly deal with LGBT issues otherwise, I feel sad ...


Tato čínská bromance vysoce hodnocená na MDL a balancující na hranici krátkého a celovečerního filmu mě nenechala chladným a ocenil jsem především oba hlavní herce (19 a 23 let), ale též hudbu, zpracování a výpravu. Velmi dobrý zážitek a já si tento kraťas zařazuji k sobě mezi filmy celovečerní. Je opravdu velká škoda, že v Číně je nyní tematika gay ve filmové tvorbě pod poklicí zásluhou jedné jediné, neomylné rudé strany. Když si představím pestrost z Taiwanu a kolik by nám toho mohla přinést 1,4 miliardová Čína, protože tam doutnají tisíce neprobuzených tvůrců, kteří by se LGBT tematikou jinak určitě zabývali, je mi smutno ...

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Hidden Gem

It’s a fluke coming across this film today. I didn’t waste time and searched where I can watch this with English sub; YT didn’t disappoint me.
This could have been a successful full length film or drama series. I can sense there’s so much to tell within the story. The acting was exemplary and the filming was superb. I am wondering why this short film wasn’t promoted well. At any rate, it will be a worthwhile half an hour and at the end watch out because you’ll be wanting more.
Awesome production here! It lacked promotion otherwise it would have made money!0

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Beautifully Short & Worth Watching

This is only 37 minutes so I didn't have high hopes when I watched it because I'm used to a movie that's around two hours in length. But this went beyond my expectations...

The actors truly did a great job portraying their characters. They were able to infuse such emotion and skill into every ounce of their performances and that's astounding. They've both found a new fan in me.

The production was great, everything was beautiful from the costumes, hair, and makeup to their surroundings.

I will say that story-wise, it was very compact. There was nothing extra--very to the point. But yeah...37 minutes, what else did you expect?

I'm glad I watched it. ^_^

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