A man is torn between his compassionate nature and the warrior's
philosophy that has been drummed into him in this historical action
adventure from director Tian Zhuangzhuang. During the era of the Warring
States, Lu Chenkang (Joes Odagiri) is a Chinese shepherd who is strong
but gentle, a man who loves animals and keeps a wolf cub as a pet as
well as looking after his flocks. General Zhang Anliang (Tou Chung-Hua)
is leading his troops through the Kunlun Mountains, and when he meets
Lu, he's convinced the shepherd has the potential to be a first-class
soldier. Lu is wary, but is persuaded to join the General, and is
indoctrinated into his philosophy of æKill or Be Killed.Æ A skirmish
that goes wrong leads to the General being sent home, and Lu, who has
become one of his most powerful fighters, becomes commander in his
absence. As winter comes to China, Lu's army takes over an abandoned
village in the mountain, and Lu finds a woman (Maggie Q) hiding in a
makeshift shelter dug into the earth. Lu's initial reaction is brutal,
but the woman, who had lost her husband in the war, refuses to be
intimidated by him, and in time her beauty reawakens the kindness of his
spirit. However, as Lu falls in love with the widow, she warns him that
she is a member of a spirit tribe that can be transformed into wolves
at a moment's notice, and he thinks he may have found a connection to a
world in which he truly belongs. Lang Zai Ji (aka The Warrior and the
Wolf) received its North American premiere at the 2009 Toronto
International Film Festival.