Long zhi zhan

This movie pertains to the Sino French War of 1884-5. The cinematography and battle scenes are well done. The movie is made by the Chinese and naturally portrays them in a favorable manner. The outcome of the War was a military stalemate which was resolved at the Treaty of Tientsin. The French got Indo China. Today the power balance is reversed and the Chinese want to seem to be invincible in the 19th century when they certainly were not. Western technology opposed Chinese manpower. The actual battle of Zhennan Pass involved 1500 French against 16,000 to 20,000 Chinese. You get the impression in the movie that thousands of French soldiers were killed although only 74 actually died and many more Chinese were killed. There is plenty of action but I could not see why the crocodile scene was in the movie. It possibly supported the theme of camaraderie and loyalty. The Qing Dynasty was weak and eventually was toppled by Dr. Sun Yatsen in 1911. I prefer the Chinese movies which are based on older historical periods for the spectacle. They don't seem to like making movies that are about modern subjects or issues. They would be too controversial.