SPOILER-FREE PLOT SUMMARY
In an era when China has a government-mandated one child law, sisters Mei and Yun live in a veil of secrecy. Both girls go through kung fu training sessions with their father but Yun, the older sister, is the only one allowed to go to school, have friends, head to movie theaters, go to restaurants, etc. Knowing her sister can’t do any of those things out of fear of being discovered, Yun always comes home and tells Mei the stories of the day while making sure she’s okay, despite being isolated. Fast forward to current day and Yun has gone missing in the Chinatown neighborhood of Rome, Italy. Mei (played by Yaxi Liu) smuggles herself into a sex trafficking ring and confronts Wang (Shanshan Chunyu), the boss. She learns her sister was connected to a customer named Alfredo, the owner of a small trattoria. While following the breadcrumbs in a desperate effort to find Yun, she runs into Alfredo’s son, Marcello (Enrico Borello) who’s been a cook in his father’s restaurant for longer than he’d like to admit. His dad has also recently gone missing through mysterious circumstances and they eventually learn the two could be connected. They realize that, despite their language barrier, they’re going to have to join forces in order to solve everything that’s going on.
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
The action scenes are interesting and the story is a well told one but the true stand outs of THE FORBIDDEN CITY are the performances of the leads. It’s important to note that Liu is actually a professional stunt woman and, given that background, it’s a very impressive illustration of her talents. The other lead, Borello, steals the show with his ability to tap into a wide range of emotions — both of the flamboyant and subtle varieties — including disdain, fear, intimidation, confidence, helplessness and discipline. He does it so well that he reminds me of the now Oscar-nominated Wagner Moura in THE SECRET AGENT. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Borello finds his way into an award-worthy role like that in the near future, based solely on this movie.
To get through well over two hours of subtitles can be a lot for some people but rest assured the plot, fight sequences and talent on screen help you forget pretty quickly that the constant translation is necessary.
Featuring the spoken languages of Italian and Mandarin, LA CITTÀ PROIBITA deserves an early 2026 spotlight. It’s right up there with CRIME 101 and HOPPERS as one of the best movies in the first quarter of the year and really is worth a watch if you’re a fan of the action genre in the slightest. Obviously, being in Q1, there’s a lot of films left to be released in 2026 but don’t be surprised if this is somewhere on my Music City Film Critic’s Association ballot in the Best International Film category come December.
Despite a pinch of over-acting, a dab of convenient fight choreography and a full cup of too much runtime, THE FORBIDDEN CITY is a fun, adrenaline-filled ride. Liu does a great job making the jump from stunt person to lead and Borello proves his career is worth keeping an eye on. Lesser actors in those specific roles would lower the audience impact substantially.
It hits digital platforms on Tuesday, March 17 and then physical release on April 21.
JKG SCORE: 7.0
Untitled Film Project 