“A Legend” is an absorbing reconstruction of history, myth and mysticism, which makes viewers go through both time and space. It starts by the author with Professor Chen, an archeologist, who discovers treasures in a glacier, which are suspiciously close to a jade pendant that he had been dreaming of. This realization acts as a catalyst in a journey into the Glacier Temple heart that the reality and the dream appear to blend into a single mystical union that transcends centuries. The movie is a brilliant combination of a modern archeological adventure and an ancient epic that orchestrates into a crest of storytelling that explores the timeless nature of love, fate and the secrets of the past.
The film is breathtaking on the eye with spectacular shots of frozen terrain, the old set designs and colorful recreations of the battlefields during the Western Han dynasty. The camera work is a stunning expression of the beauty of the barren glacier and the greenery of ancient China, and takes the audience between the two realities. The music is ideal and balanced to the visuals as it alternates between the scary tunes and the triumphant orchestra tunes that amplify emotional appeal. The subtleties of special effects are used to improve the mysticism aspects, and the mixture of realism and fantasy is clear. The acting is very emotional, and the characters between the worlds and times are well-developed by the actors with nuances.
The best thing for me was the way the movie touched upon the eternal themes of the connection between love and history and how there are some legends that are beyond time. The adventures of the characters create the impression of self-wonder and self-reflection, which makes the story look epic and personal at the same time. The movie A Legend is a well written masterpiece that appeals to the heart and makes the viewers believe in the mightiness of the legends, which always lingers just under the water of the history and under our skins.
