This is a great Movie!

The film is set in western China in 700AD during the Tang Dynasty, and revolves around two protagonists, the first of whom is Lieutenant Li of the Chinese army. Li’s refusal to kill Göktürk women and child prisoners is classed as a mutiny, leading him to be expelled from the army and to become a fugitive, traveling through the Gobi Desert. Years later, he is saved by the survivors of a caravan which carries a powerful, mystical relic accompanied by a Buddhist monk. Li protects the caravan from Göktürks as well as the overlord of the region, Master An, who is hired by the Göktürk Khan to seize the relic.

The second protagonist, a Japanese emissary, Lai Xi, is ordered by the emperor of China to kill the fugitive, Li. In a twist of fate, Lai Xi discovers that the caravan is on a mission and helps Li to defend it, to ensure that it arrives at the capital safely. They promise to fight each other only after their duty is done, although that battle never comes to pass.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warriors_of_Heaven_and_Earth

Warriors of Heaven and Earth (Chinese: 天地英雄) is a 2003 Chinese action adventure film directed by He Ping. The film’s notable cinematography captures a wide range of landscapes across China’s Xinjiang province. It was China’s official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, though it did not get nominated.

Warriors of Heaven and Earth
U.S. theatrical poster
Traditional	天地英雄
Simplified	天地英雄
Mandarin	Tiāndì Yīngxíong
Directed by	He Ping
Produced by	Song Dai Wang Zhonglei Chen Kuo-fu Rita Fung Hou Shengjun Zhou Fengying Yang Ge
Written by	He Ping Zhang Rui
Starring	Jiang Wen Kiichi Nakai Wang Xueqi Zhao Wei Hasi Bagen
Music by	A. R. Rahman
Cinematography	Zhao Fei Zheng Hua Wang Min
Edited by	Kong Jinlei
Production company	Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia Limited
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics (U.S.)
Release date	October 16, 2003
Running time	114 minutes
Country	China
Language	Mandarin