The Forbidden City

2025 [ITALIAN]

Action / Drama / Romance / Thriller

10
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 92% · 13 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 92%
IMDb Rating 6.8/10 10 2720 2.7K

kung fu

Plot summary

The son of an indebted restaurant owner joins a foreign girl in search of her sister. Together, they’ll have to fight side by side against the most ruthless members of the Roman criminal underworld.

Director

Gabriele Mainetti Photo
Gabriele Mainetti

Top cast

Sabrina Ferilli Photo
Sabrina Ferilli as Lorella
Luca Zingaretti Photo
Luca Zingaretti as Alfredo
Yaxi Liu Photo
Yaxi Liu as Mei
Williams Belle Photo
Williams Belle as Mr. Wang sgherri
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
1.24 GB
1280*536
Italian 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   ro  
24 fps
2 hr 18 min
Seeds 96
2.55 GB
1920*804
Italian 5.1
NR
Subtitles us   ro  
24 fps
2 hr 18 min
Seeds 77

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by massimo_saidel 7 / 10

Spaghetti v. Chopsticks: a Fun poké bowl by Italo maverick helmer

Gabriele Mainetti's fun mixed film bowl (of roman holiday, italian family values, restaurants and kickass martial arts) set in a central but little known ethnic part of town, deserves more success and love than it actually garnered. This was supposed to be the comercial comeback of a maverick filmmaker who exactly 10 years ago smashed the box office with his unlikely super hero "Jeeg Robot", which also launched the career of actor Luca Marinelli ("M"; "Martin Eden"). This time on hand a cast of beloved local stars includes Sabrina Ferilli ("La grande bellezza"), Marco Giallini (best at playing baddies in the Lee Van Cleef mood) paired with likable newcomer Enrico Borello and to die for stuntwoman turned actress Yaxi Liu (plus new handsome italo-chinese thesps), on a revenge blitz to the Eternal City. And that is what all the well penned characters in the film bargain for: danger, death, spectacular martial fights (that give Jason Statham or even Jackie Chan a run for their money) and true love...So I loved and recommend this fast and furious take on my hometown bathed in asian scent rarely seen since my childhood hero Bruce Lee's shoot in Rome in 1972 ("The Way of the Dragon").
Reviewed by kjxhmkbq 8 / 10

Bravi

Gorgeous movie. A really nice mix of drama, comedy and action, with an unexpected blend of cultures and locations. The best way to read it is probably as a melodrama, with the final scene that almost feels like an opera. Tons of themes, lots of different tones, it pulls on several emotional strings. Flawless direction. Sound not quite perfect.
Reviewed by cinemapersonified 7 / 10

Pretty Good Movie

Rating - 7.8: Overall, a true melting pot of a movie as it is a kung-fu, familial drama, and romance all wrapped up in one that juxtaposes Chinese and Italian cultures to make an entertaining experience; but, it is really held back by its dual climax structure because you have such an adrenaline dump after the first that you really do not want to go through a second.Direction - Pretty Good to Good: The direction on a macroscale is good, as they show this Chinese world is embedded in Rome, and they do an amazing job building the kung-fu action sequences, as it makes this movie feel like an action-packed adventure; The direction on a microscale is good, as the movie is built on its interpersonal sequences between the characters, as it makes you empathize with their struggles; The storytelling is good for the most part, as you get invested in the story, but the structure feels like an adrenaline dump, as there are two climaxes; Tension is built well, as you really get emotionally invested in these characters, and tension is built well in the action sequencesStory - Pretty Good to Good: The concept is unique and interesting because it is a familial story told with different cultures that are interesting, with a Kung-Fu and romance movie attached as well; The plot structure is pretty good for the most part because it is a main story with two subplots, but this kind of hurts the ending because there is a climax and then a second climax right after because it had to end the main revenge story and then the familial conflicts right after; Character writing is good because you care about these characters and their struggles, painted with a lot of depth that makes them memorableScreenplay - Good: The dialogue is good and well written; The humor is definitely there and helps make the movie feel genreless at times, and it helps ease the tension in the movie; The symbolism is strong in this movie because it touches on familial topics, cultures clashing and melting together, and romantic interests; The foreshadowing is decentActing - Pretty Good: Enrico Borello - Decent to Pretty Goof (A little bit stiff at first, but comes into his own towards the midway point and plays a lead with some range well; has good chemistry with Liu), Yaxi Liu - Good (Has a good amount of range and really embodies someone mourning the loss of her sister; shows poise and expertise in the action scenes; has good chemistry with Borello), Marco Giallini - Pretty Good to Good (Feels like an experienced actor who really steals scenes he is in and lifts up his cast mates; has good chemistry with Borello), Sabrina Ferilli - Decent to Pretty Good (Plays her role well; Has pretty good chemistry with Borello; Isn't really given that much to work with), Chunyu Shanshan - Pretty Good (Plays the typical menacing villain well), Rest of the cast - Decent to Pretty Good (Everyone plays their roles well and helps lift up the cast)Score - Good: Blends Chinese and Italian influences to make this movie feel like a melting pot of both cultures; Used effectively to build tension and help set the tone, especially in the action sequencesCinematography - Good: Executed and shot well, really helps bring to life the action sequencesEditing - Good: Executed and shot well really help bring to life the action sequencesSound - Good: Executed and shot well really helps bring to life the action sequencesVisual Effects - Good: Help really brings the actions to life, especially with the use of practical effectsProduction Design - Good: Helps show the juxtaposition of this Chinese culture inside RomePacing - Pacing is pretty good for the most part, but gets kind of slow at times; The way the climaxes are structured, everything in the end of the movie feels slow as you had an adrenaline dump from the first climaxClimax - Climax is a big issue with this movie because there are two separate climaxes; When the first climax ends, you have a huge adrenaline dump that doesn't allow you to experience the second climaxTone - Tone is a mix of many genres, as this is truly a melting pot a kung-fu movie, a familial drama, and a romanceFinal Notes - Saw premiere at Fantastic Fest.
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