Xuan ya zhi shang

When too much information is weaved/stuffed into such a visual spectacle in just two hours, then some details must be missed out during the (first-time) viewing process. I really enjoyed the strain and the thrill that the movie offered in Act 2 , but it took me some time to realize who's who and I had to carefully follow up on everybody's lines and subtext in Act 1 (even if I speak Mandarin). It also feels a bit abrupt when we see things are all settled in the end. Clarity is inevitably compromised when the narrative sometimes requires the audience to connect dots by themselves , in a blink of an eye.

The topic is a typical Chinese communists theme, i.e., how nationalists persecuted them and communists sacrificed themselves to win the ruling of the country. The movie was directed by the famous director Zhang yimo, who did it for Chinese communist authority, which is understandable. The directing is ok, and the movie theme is quite tense from the beginning to the end. However, the actors/actresses are mediocre. The ending is also typical Chinese movie technique, i.e. Use crying and background music to stir up emotion of audience.

China's official entry to 2022's Oscars is a very good atmospheric historical spy thriller. Although its story is not my cup of tea, I enjoyed it and was involved in it all the time. The story unfolds interestingly and storytelling is beautiful. Cinematography, production design and costume design are all nice. Some scenes are really thrilling and intense.

How this director went from shooting, among other masterpieces, the most fabulously caustic critique of maoism with "To Live!" to erecting cinematic monuments to the glory of the Chinese Communist Party will go down as the most tragic waste in the history of cinema.

It should pain every cinephile out there, to see such genius being employed to such petty ends.

This kind of shameless brainwashing was equally pathetic when the Americans were doing it, but at least they didn't send their best directors to do it. Here Zhang Yimou is just kissing the ring, you can feel it, the guy is too brilliant to sincerely adhere to this hopelessly explicit propaganda.

Apart from that heavy aspect, objectively the movie isn't bad, although the action sometimes moves a bit too fast and the sentimentalism can get a tad too facile and corny.

Well, this movie is obviously another try of the CCP to brainwash its 1.4 billion subjects and at the same to whitewash and make the Chinese Communist Party was the sole entity that fought against the Japanese even before China officially declared war against the Japanese invasion in the Puppet Manchuria regime. But fair is fair, other than the formulaic and cliched ideological whitewash&brainwash purposes, Zhang, the director, the whole cast, the camera work, the editing as well as the soundtrack, the song at the end, all seamlessly performed a great work.

The only miscast was actress Haocun Liu, who played the role Lan, a young, maybe too young to be a Soviet Russian trained Chinese Communist member. Her role in this movie was a huge mix bag, because sometimes she looked just too young, too fragile, too vulnerable to play such role, yet at some critical moments, she also weirdly showed a rare toughness and maturity. Her purity and decency showed in this movie are exactly when Zhang ZiYi was just an unknown young girl auditioned for Zhang Yimou's My Father & Mother 1999. Could she enjoy a bounty future as Zhang Ziyi? Only time could tell.

After watched this movie, an afterthought inevitably came up. If those founding members of CCP were exactly liked what they have shown in each and every propaganda movies including this one, then I have to say, that the once passionate and patriotic first batch of the Chinese Communist vanguards were long gone. If they knew what their beloved Party has become since 1949, I think all of them would turn in their graves and cry their hearts out.