I wanted this movie to work, but ultimately it doesn't.
Good things about the movie: Abuse-of-power shown via a martial arts sparing match between a communist party heavy and a "citizen." Some of the acting is very good, including the leading lady. Depiction of "underground church" and characters good. Individual scenes typically well-scripted, but...well, I'll address the problem in the next paragraph. The basic premise; that one's affinity to the divine is a delicate thing that can't be explained nor explained away; does come across in the end.
Bad things: Generally, poor narrative, script, and scene organization. Lack of funds to do some of the scenes right (e.g., Japanese "invasion" by one soldier in an empty street pummeling a gate with his rifle butt). General clumsiness in use of voiceover. Motivation for last scene (leading lady walking across a desert expanse to meet her husband) not set up properly; confusing. Some of the character development in the area of abuses by party heavies is hyperbolic, and generally not believable. In general, movies that rely upon the depiction of a litany of atrocities committed by the-powers-that-be tend to be weak. I'm not saying that consciousness raising about these things is bad, it's just a question of the delicate balance you have to maintain in cinema when trying to communicate this. The "litany approach" doesn't cut it.
I conclude by citing this as yet-another example of the ascendency of true artistry over even divinely-inspired good intentions. I'm sorry to see that this continues to haunt "Christian" movies to this day (I'm writing in 2002). Some day these people will quit bellyaching about the Satanic plot that funnels all the money to secular themes and just come up with a compelling story, and get enough money and no-bullstuff talent to finally do the job right. Clue: Review Fellini's early narrative movies; relatively low budget, themes scaled to the human dimension, divine implications.
