Movie

The Promise

2005 · 121 min

A lush, tragic fairy tale that sweeps you into a world of doomed romance and extravagant battles, beautiful but emotionally distant.

Overview: An orphaned girl, driven by poverty at such a young age, makes a promise with an enchantress. In return for beauty and the admiration of every man, she will never be with the man she loves. This spell cannot be broken unless the impossible happens: snow falling in spring and the dead coming back to life. Now a grown and beautiful princess, she regrets her promise, for all of the men she's loved has always been met with tragedy.

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How it feels

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Tone: romanticstrength 3 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
whimsicalstrength 2 of 3
darkstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: love
fate
betrayal
identity
redemption
Places: fantasy world
countryside
Era: timeless
Audience: teen
Form: nonlinear
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language none
Violence strong
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	7
Horror	2
Humour	2
Realism	2
Romance	7
Tension	5
Darkness	6
Complexity	6
Emotional weight	7

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Where to watch in the UK

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Details

Genres: fantasy, drama, action, thriller, romance
Directed by: Chen Kaige
Written by: Charcoal Tan, Chen Kaige
Starring: Cecilia Cheung, Liu Ye, Chen Hong, Cheng Qian, Jang Dong-gun, Hiroyuki Sanada, Nicholas Tse Ting-fung, Yu Jinwei
Music: Klaus Badelt
Cinematography: Peter Pau Tak-hai
Runtime: 121 min
Country: China, Hong Kong, United States of America
Languages: Mandarin

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The Promise

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