The film depicts Confucius's later life, as he traveled across a China divided by war and strife in an ultimately futile effort to teach various warlords and kings his particular philosophy.
Direction
Fei Mu's poetic staging elevates minimal resources to grandeur.
Acting
Wan'er Murong's weary dignity carries the entire philosophical weight.
Cinematography
Shadowy, expressionist lighting in warlord courts.
Director
Fei Mu
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during Japan's occupation of Shanghai, the film's critique of chaotic leadership was dangerously subtextual—Confucius's failures mirror China's contemporary crisis.
Fei Mu considered this his masterpiece, yet it was lost for 60 years until a print surfaced in 2001 in a Hong Kong archive.
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