Reviewed by: pjshimmer Date: 02/02/2003 Summary: Excellent production; [impossible-to-enjoy] movie Here we have a Mainland movie with Mainland trademarks all over. The director does what Mainland directors do best - tell a simple story within a natural, quiet atmosphere, without the earthshaking action sequences of Hollywood or HK cinemas. "Double Flag" is nothing like the HK wuxia movies, but it's probably more authentic/realistic than anything HK ever made. Unfortunately, the action is nonexistent. The longest "fight scene" is less than 3 seconds. The characters in this movie are uneducated, ill-mannered people from a small town in the middle of a desert, and their lack of mannerism disgusted me. Thankfully the female protagonist changed her attitude soon enough; I really wanted to stranggle her myself. All these barbaric citizens make you repeat "idiots, idiots, idiots." And so I had absolutely no fun watching Double Flag, but I can appreciate its uniqueness as a Mainland historical drama. The greatest pleasure for me was to experience the exclusive Mainland feel (esp the background music) of the late 80s/early 90s. [7/10]