The Great Magician is set in 1916, during the warlord era in China, and it follows the story of a magician (Tony Leung) caught up in a love triangle between his fiancee (Zhou Xun) and a local warlord (Lau Ching-wan) trying to unite the country with the help of the Japanese Army.

A mix of magic, fantasy, romance, action & history, that sounds fun and, eventually, full of surprises. It’s an intriguing yet simple story, delivering apparently solid characters with secret motives, all trying to fool each others… It’s interesting to notice that recently, director Derek yee seems to be really attracted to games of deception.

From Protégé to Triple Tap, including the Overheard films produced by Yee, they all feature characters hiding something from the other – and sometimes, Yee relies a bit too much on these secrets to create some kind of unpredictable twist. Maybe with this new magic trick, Yee’s works are going to reach another level?

The Great Magician will be released in China on January 12, 2012.