The Soul
Traditional Chinese緝魂
Hanyu PinyinJī Hún
Directed byCheng Wei-hao
Screenplay byCheng Wei-hao, Jin Bailun (金百伦), Chen Yen-chi (陈彦齐)
Based onYihun Youshu by Jiang Bo
Produced byBernard Yang (楊庭愷)
StarringChang Chen
Janine Chang
Sun Anke
Christopher Lee
CinematographyKartik Vijay
Edited byShieh Meng Ju (解孟儒)
Music byLu Luming (盧律銘)
Production
companies
TMZ Media
霍尔果斯众合千澄影业有限公司
Rise Pictures
Pon Pon Pictures
Distributed byQC Media
Taopiaopiao
China Film Co., Ltd.
Vie Vision Pictures
Release dates
  • 15 January 2021 (2021-01-15) (mainland China)
  • 29 January 2021 (2021-01-29) (Taiwan)
Running time
124 minutes (mainland China)
130 minutes (Taiwan)
CountryChina/Taiwan
LanguageStandard Chinese
BudgetTWD160 million

The Soul (simplified Chinese: 缉魂; traditional Chinese: 緝魂; pinyin: Jī Hún) is a Chinese-Taiwanese neo-noir sci-fi mystery crime film based on Jiang Bo's (江波) novel Yihun Youshu (移魂有术). It is directed by Cheng Wei-hao and stars Chang Chen, Janine Chang, Sun Anke, and Christopher Lee.[1]

Plot

The film opens to a crime scene at a luxurious house. The police discovers that CEO Wang Shi-cong, founder of a corporation developing futuristic cancer treatments, has been brutally murdered. His wife, Li Yan, was holding the murder weapon. We cut to a hospital where Ah-Bao, a detective, is having an ultrasound, and her baby is seven weeks old. She is accompanied by her husband Liang Wen-chao, who is a prosecutor. In the next scene, we learn Liang has cancer, which is spreading and resisting treatment. The doctor advises them to consider RNA restoration technology.

Ah-Bao is assigned to the case of CEO Wang while Liang becomes the prosecutor. During interrogation, Li Yan reveals that she witnessed the murder and it was actually Wang Tian-you, the son, who did it. Doctor Wan also believes that the son murdered his father because he had been disinherited. The maid reveals that Wang's first wife, Tang Su-zhen, was diagnosed with depression, due to Wang's indifference after the birth of their son and his infidelity. Tang eventually commits suicide. Before she died, she put a curse on her husband.

They discover that there is a security camera inside Li Yan's room. While sifting through the clips, they find that Li Yan has been having epileptic fits while she sleeps. She has also been hallucinating and talking to Tang Su-zhen. Liang goes through the clips and finds that Doctor Wan and Li Yan seem to be involved. While searching online, he finds paparazzi reports of Doctor Wan and Tang Su-zhen's affair. Liang now believes that the epileptic fits are somewhat responsible. He notes that when Li Yan first arrived at the Wang residence, she was a right-hander. However, during the interrogation, she had signed her witness statements with her left hand. Her demeanor before and after the epileptic fits had also changed. Doctor Wan started treating her differently after the fits.

While visiting the company, they sit through Doctor Wan's TED talk. The RNA technology is revealed to be effective in curing degenerative brain cells. It is also possible to transfer brain cells from one entity to another. While questioning Doctor Wan, Liang shows the doctor printouts of his affair with Tang. The journalist who witnessed Tang's suicide had told the police that Doctor Wan had been at the scene. Liang accuses the doctor of copying Tang's brain cells into Li Yan, to bring his lover back. The doctor denies this.

The police eventually discover Wang Tian-you's whereabouts. They apprehend him and bring him in for questioning. When Li Yan and Tian-you are placed in a room together, Li Yan starts acting up. When she snaps out of it, it seems like she has been taken over by Tang. She thanks her son for killing his father and they both become emotional.

In the car, Liang has an epileptic episode and he awakens in the hospital. Ah-Bao tells him that the cancer has reached his brain but Wang's company has agreed to provide free RNA technology to help them. Liang eventually finds out that his wife made a deal with Doctor Wan, by tampering with evidence, for free RNA treatment. He is furious that she would jeopardize her career just to buy him a little bit of time as every living moment is torture for him and he would rather die. However, Ah-Bao begs to differ and they argue.

Meanwhile, Li Yan is released and she goes home with Doctor Wan. Not long after, Li Yan is seen running from her home screaming for help while Doctor Wan chases her. She goes to the police and tells them that the doctor had tried to force her to sign the company over to him. When she refused, he tried to murder her. Li Yan eventually takes over the company and becomes the CEO.

We learn that the evidence that Ah-Bao tampered with turns out to be the actual recording of the murder. It is Li Yan and CEO Wang's voice. Liang confronts Li Yan and accuses her of being Wang himself. He believes that Wang had copied his brain to Li Yan. While dying in bed, Wang made numerous wrong choices for the company, causing its stock to tumble. Li Yan (but really Wang no.2), desperate for the well-being of "his" company, decides that it's time for Wang to die so she gives the son a fake letter from his mother. In the letter, it instructed the son to kill Wang on a certain date. However, the son runs away at the last minute, so Li Yan steps in to deal the killing blow. Liang explains that he started suspecting Li Yan because of how she wrote Wang's name when she was filling out a form. It was an exact replica of Wang's signature. Li Yan doesn't deny any of this but drives away nonchalantly.

Doctor Wan, who has been in hiding, eventually goes to Liang and confesses everything. He and CEO Wang were actual lovers. Wang has had gender dysphoria since he was young but due to his high status, he quashed it. But for appearances' sake, Wang was forced to marry. On the outside, his marriage to Tang Su-zhen seemed to be perfect, but Tang started showing signs of depression due to neglect. Out of guilt, Doctor Wan started spending more time with her, and this soon developed into emotional dependence from her part. While trying to find evidence that her husband was having affairs, she found out about their relationship. Out of despair, she commits suicide. CEO Wang is diagnosed with cancer not long after. In order to save Wang, Doctor Wan brings in Li Yan, who grew up in one of the orphanages that the company patrons. Using the RNA technology that he and Tang had been researching, he copies almost all of Wang's brain into Li Yan. She starts getting epileptic fits at night but afterwards, starts showing a marked change in her demeanor. Then everything else is just as Liang had suspected.

Doctor Wan begs Liang to take him in and he will confess to everything. However, Liang refuses because this would bring up Ah-Bao's evidence tampering. We cut to the Wang residence, where Liang visits Li Yan. While they talk and she is distracted, Doctor Wan goes in and attacks her. Liang goes to his superior and confesses that he had been the one to tamper with the evidence. At court, Li Yan pleads guilty to everything. By this time, Liang is at his final stages of cancer. Doctor Wan is seen committing suicide by lethal injection on his old lover's bed. Ah-Bao is seen visiting Li Yan in prison. She is emotional while she shows Li Yan the baby. Then we see Li Yan making a certain gesture that only Liang would make.

Cast

Production

Director Cheng Wei-hao asked male lead Chang Chen to lose 10 kilograms and shave his head for his role as cancer patient Liang Wenchao. Chang lost 12 kg within three months.[3][4] Janine Chang changed her hairstyle for the film, cutting her hair short for her role as a police officer.[4] In preparation for filming, Cheng Wei-hao and Janine Chang visited police stations to talk to female officers about their work and observe police officers' uniforms and behavior on the job.[4]

The film began shooting on 20 November 2019, and began post-production in early 2020.[5]

Six minutes of the film were cut from the mainland Chinese version due to censorship,[6][7] mainly of violence.[2]

Release

The Soul was released in mainland China on 15 January 2021, and grossed RMB111 million.[8]

The film was released on 29 January 2021, in Taiwan and grossed TWD50.9 million.[9]

The film was released internationally for streaming on Netflix, on 14 April 2021.[10]

Reception

On Douban, The Soul initially reached an average rating of 7.3 out of 10, which fell to 7.1 soon after its release. It received an average score of 8.0 on Maoyan and 8.1 on Taopiaopiao.[11]

Critic Sean Aversa praised the film for its intricate and unpredictable plot, saying that it was "exceptionally well written" and the cast's performance was excellent.[12] Decider called it "a dark, dense film that’ll reward attentive viewers and turn away those looking for light entertainment",[13] while Han Cheung of the Taipei Times lauded its "suspenseful, nuanced storytelling".[14] Jiang Bo, author of the original novel, said that the adaptation was extremely successful.[15]

On the other hand, Derek Elley panned the film, calling it "relentlessly downbeat" and described the plot as "convoluted and outrageous".[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "张震新片《缉魂》深度解析！从头到尾捋一遍，你得看懂细节才行". 腾讯网 (in Chinese). 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  2. 1 2 3 Elley, Derek. "Review: The Soul (2021)". Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  3. ↑ "张震为《缉魂》剃光头减肥12公斤 被赞拍一部电影学一项技能". 新浪. 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  4. 1 2 3 "【電影時刻】張震、張鈞甯主演懸疑燒腦《緝魂》上映！劇情一再反轉飆豆瓣評分7.1". VOGUE TAIWAN (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  5. ↑ "张钧甯电影《缉魂》官宣 短发造型干练帅气". ent.ifeng.com. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "张震、张钧甯《缉魂》今日公映，删掉了6分钟血腥镜头". 网易. 15 January 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  7. ↑ "张震主演的《缉魂》获业内力挺，但为什么票房不行？". 澎湃新闻. 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  8. ↑ "艺恩-数据智能服务商_影片详情". www.endata.com.cn. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  9. ↑ "張鈞甯「白目行為」報應來了！張震冷看笑話：想當初⋯". ETtoday新聞雲. 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  10. ↑ "Best Netflix movies: Why Did You Kill Me and more (April 14, 2021)". Netflix Life. 2021-04-14. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  11. ↑ "业内好评的《缉魂》为什么市场表现平平？|界面新闻 · JMedia". www.jiemian.com. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  12. ↑ "'The Soul': A Winding Thrill — Netflix's Chinese-Taiwanese Mystery Film A Real Mindbender - Hollywood Insider". www.hollywoodinsider.com. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  13. ↑ "Stream It Or Skip It: 'The Soul' on Netflix, a Taiwanese Potboiler Blending Elements of Horror, Sci-fi, Mystery and Melodrama". Decider. 2021-04-15. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  14. ↑ "Film Review: The Soul". www.taipeitimes.com. 2021-02-04. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  15. ↑ "悬疑犯罪电影《缉魂》发布口碑特辑 震撼人心直击泪腺好评不断_YNET.com北青网". 北青网. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
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