The events in The Promise are arranged in chronological order:
the first shot of the film is a scene after the war, but the initial development of the storyline precedes that. After the war, Xiao Wuhuan, who went with the army, survived. It can be guessed that Manshen rescued Wuhuan and made a gambling contract with him. From the development of the later plot, this is a bet on trust. Xiao Wuhuan didn't believe this bet at first, he tried it through Xiao Qingcheng, and as a result, he was deceived for the first time.
(The North Duke's army was defeated in this war, and the North Duke himself died in the battle - even if he did not die, he was seriously injured. Xiao Wuhuan succeeded the North Duke and hated the king.)
After Xiao Qingcheng escaped, he met Manshen, Manchu God helped her pick up the buns and made a bet. Allure's bet is about love.
A few years later, Qingcheng was taken over to the palace and became a princess.
Ten years later, Wuhuan grew up and began to implement his plan to seize power. There is a victorious general Guangming beside Wang, which must be solved first by Wuhuan. The way to solve the light is very simple - assassination. The killer must have speed, so he thought of the Snowman. Wuhuan led his troops to attack the Snow Country, looking for the slave who belonged to him - wearing his robe of immortality, he would become his slave for life.
Manshen helps the people of the Snow Country to avoid the disaster of genocide (rescue the little Kunlun), so as to make a gambling contract with the ghost wolf. The ghost wolf puts on the robe of immortality and becomes a slave of Wuhuan.
Wearing the robe of immortality has both positive and negative effects. The positive is that it can make people run faster and even reverse time. The reverse is that the robe cannot be taken off, and when it is taken off, the person wearing the robe will be wiped out.
Wuhuan trains his killer and prepares to attack the royal city.
Another ten years later, Kunlun grew up in slavery. In the battle of Horseshoe Valley, Kunlun learned to run and helped Bright win. Kunlun became a slave of light.
Taking advantage of the opportunity of Guangming's battle, Wuhuan attacked the king's city and surrounded it. Wuhuan claimed that he attacked the Wangcheng for the princess, which was Wuhuan's first lie in the film.
Guangming rode back to Wangcheng to rescue alone, and got lost in the banana forest. Manshen guides the light and makes a bet. Bright made a bet on victory.
The ghost wolf assassinated Guangming, because he met Kunlun, his own clan, and canceled the assassination on his own. But Guangming was injured and could not ride a horse, so he gave the flower armor to Kunlun, and asked Kunlun to ride back to the king's city for rescue. He also said, "He who has no weapons in his hands is the king."
Kunlun returned to the king's city and saw that the king was chasing Qingcheng, killed the king, and rescued the city. Wuhuan led his guards to chase the waterfall and told Kunlun that he jumped off and released Qingcheng. This is Wuhuan's second lie. Kunlun jumped off the waterfall, Wuhuan imprisoned Qingcheng in the golden bird cage.
Because Guangming was thought to have killed the king, he lost his military heart and was completely defeated. This is Guangming's second defeat, the first being Banana Forest's defeat to Ghost Wolf. Man God saves the light.
Guangming wanted to return the flower armor and ordered Kunlun to rescue Qingcheng, and then he "rescued" Qingcheng by wearing the armor.
Wuhuan ordered the ghost wolf to kill Kunlun, but the ghost wolf rescued Kunlun from the royal city instead. This is the second time Wuhuan has been deceived.
Qingcheng thought of his own destiny (a bet) and left alone. Guangming chased her back in order to win the bet (get Qingcheng). During this period, Guangming allowed Kunlun to restore his free status.
Qingcheng thought that Guangming gave everything for himself and gave his heart to Guangming (love the wrong person).
Wuhuan's design, Guangming abandoned Qingcheng and returned to Wangcheng in order to win, but was captured. This is Bright's third failure.
The ghost wolf makes Kunlun understand his identity.
Qingcheng asked Kunlun to go to Wangcheng to save Guangming, and then Qingcheng was captured.
Kunlun goes to Wangcheng. The ghost wolf took off the robe of immortality for Kunlun's freedom. Wuhuan deceived Guilang and imprisoned Kunlun in Wangcheng. This is Wuhuan's third lie. (The last time he and Guangming had a decisive battle, and they did not trust each other.)
In the trial of the royal family, Guangming admitted that he killed the king himself, and wanted to win Qingcheng's heart; Kunlun admitted that he killed the king himself, and wanted to save Guangming. Through a sentence, "don't die, live well" Qingcheng understood the truth. This is Bright's fourth failure. (The last failure was in a solo fight with Wuhuan)
Through a series of struggles, Wuhuan won an unprecedented victory. In the end, he wanted Guangming to become his slave, but he was deceived by Guangming, and Wuhuan killed Guangming. This is the third time Wuhuan has been deceived.
Kunlun and Wuhuan were both hurt, and Wuhuan died. Kunlun asked Qingcheng to see Guangming, and Guangming shed tears of sadness and died.
Kunlun put on the robe of immortality and took Qingcheng to reverse the time, giving Qingcheng a chance to choose again. At the same time, Kunlun is also forever a slave.
About the fate of several protagonists:
1. Allure never got true love. Kunlun killed the king and jumped off the waterfall not because of love, but because he wanted to save Qingcheng. This is the master's order. Guangming chased Qingcheng back to win the bet, not because of love (the same reason he later admitted to killing the king at trial). Kunlun later fell in love with Qingcheng unknowingly but did not show it to her, so Qingcheng still did not get it.
2. After the battle of Horseshoe Valley, the light never won again. He once won Qingcheng's heart, but because he was obsessed with the victory in the battlefield, he finally left Qingcheng and walked into Wuhuan's trap, losing the victory he had won.
3. Wuhuan has never been trusted.
4. The ghost wolf has never been liberated. He thought that by taking off his robe, he could exchange for Kunlun's freedom, and he was freed, but he was deceived by Wuhuan.
5. Kunlun has never been free. He came out as a slave, and in the end he voluntarily became a slave. Everything he did from beginning to end was for the sake of others.
There are indeed a lot of themes that the whole movie wants to express, but it doesn't mean that such a movie can't be made well. In fact, The Promise is a good movie - the plot is great, everything else is good, but the lines are a little rough.
Manshen directly appears three times in the film as the messenger of fate. In addition to guiding the development of the plot, these three appearances also serve as a reminder that fate often tricks the world (everyone). The director wants to remind the audience that Manshen has a bet with other people in the film (everyone has their own destiny) through these reminders.
But the audience didn't think about it, because there was no other more obvious hint than the hint of the plot. Manshen did not reappear, nor was it mentioned in other people's language. If Manshen were to appear at every bet, there would be too many reminders, too much procrastination, and the film would look terrible. Therefore, this kind of prompt should be placed in the language of the characters indistinctly.
For example, in what the ghost wolf said to Kunlun before the ashes disappeared, you can add a reminder like "...you are free, the people of the Snow Country are not eternal slaves" (probably this is what it means). In the last scene, when Guangming begged Wuhuan to put him down, and Wuhuan was hesitant, you could add a line "Someone bet with me that I would never be trusted by others. Should I trust you?" Reminders will not disrupt the flow of the plot, make the characters more closely connected to the plot, and can also remind the audience of the existence of dark lines.
Wang Po sells melons and hopes that others can taste the sweetness.
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