The Promise

A young orphan facing extreme poverty enters into a pact with a supernatural being. In exchange for beauty and wealth, she is cursed to never find true love, as any man she loves is destined for a tragic end. The spell can only be broken through impossible events, such as the dead returning to life or snow falling in the spring. Years later, as a beautiful princess, she regrets her choice while various powerful men, including warriors and rulers, compete for her affection and control over the land.

Directed by Chen Kaige, this was the fourth of 13 films he directed, following Killing Me Softly and preceding To Each His Own Cinema. The cast features Cecilia Cheung Pak-Chi, Liu Ye, Chen Hong, Cheng Qian, Jang Dong-gun, and Hiroyuki Sanada. Produced by companies including Show East and China Film Group Corporation, the film had a budget of 6 million USD and earned 34 million USD at the worldwide box office.

Audience reception is consistent across platforms, with a 5.6/10 rating on IMDb from 9,700 votes and a 5.6/10 rating on TMDB from 133 votes. This score is slightly higher than the 5.2/10 rating given by film critics based on 77 reviews.