Review | The Lychee Road movie review: Da Peng takes aim at corruption in rollicking comedy drama
Da Peng, White-K and Sabrina Zhuang are joined by Andy Lau in this period adventure drama calling out pampered elites
4/5 stars
A lowly government official puts his life on the line to attempt the impossible task of transporting fresh fruit across China in the comedy drama The Lychee Road, set in the Tang dynasty and featuring a sprawling cast of raucous supporting players.
The film is directed and written by Da Peng, who also stars as Li Shande, the man cajoled into delivering fresh Lingnan lychees to the capital Chang’an in time for the imperial consort’s birthday.
From its opening moments, audiences are aware that nobody wants Inspector Li to succeed in his fruitless endeavour, least of all the scheming Eunuch Yu (Chang Yuan), to whom the emperor made his impossible request.
Desperate to pass the buck, the dubious honour is assigned to Li, a dedicated employee from the Bureau of Imperial Gardens.
Having just bought a house for his wife (Yang Mi) and young daughter, Li is desperate for cash and is easily duped into accepting the contract, believing he is to courier preserved lychees, rather than fresh ones.