Nerisha Tuladhar
聂瑞莎 - 6223000122
Movie Review/Summary of THE SECRET OF CHINA
In the film "The Secret of China," Edgar Snow, an American journalist based in China,
travels to the Red Territory of China in 1936 in search of an exclusive story. Snow was the
first non-Chinese person to meet and interview Mao Zedong. After interrogating and
studying the actions of Communist leaders - Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai - as well as Red
Army soldiers and civilians in the Soviet area for 13 years, Snow detailed his experience
in the book "Red Star Shines on China" in fervent and intense words. After the book
initially came out, it produced an international craze, enabling people worldwide to
comprehend the genuine predicament of the Chinese Communist Party against the
circumstances of the difficult War of Resistance for the first time. It presented a unique
viewpoint on the inception of the Chinese communist revolution, which ultimately led to
the founding of the People's Republic of China in the year 1949. The historical incident
based film was directed by the acclaimed Wang Jixing, and Kenan Heppe's eager
beaver performance as Snow made the film worth the watch.
The story of the movie commenced in devastated by conflict Kuomintang territory, when
Edgar Snow got his way through nationalist lines to Shanxi Province, where he met a band
of communists who had just emerged, fatigued and destroyed, from their 6,000-mile Long
March. Snow found them developing the distinctive brand of communism that was to
govern China during the Maoist era. Then, Edgar Snow traveled to interview the
Communists after becoming disillusioned with the Nationalist administration. Since 1929,
he had been outraged by rural poverty and the Nationalists' murders of Communist
sympathizers. Many of the people Snow interviewed were Communist China's first-
generation leaders, which is why he is recognized for presenting Mao Zedong to a Western
audience. As Snow's fascination with the Communist Party evolved, he was invited to the
Red Territory by Soong Qing-Ling, political revolutionary and Sun Yat-sen's third wife.
Snow, a daring and passionate journalist conducted interviews, observations, and
experiences while travelling through incredibly hostile circumstances in order to showcase
the Chinese Communist Party to everyone. This outstanding description of events is
claimed to have been significant in determining the evolution of modern-day Asia, and was
one of the major factors in President Nixon being invited, and willing, to initiate
conversations toward the normalization of relations between the United States and China.
The film depicts the Long March, the rise of the Communist Party, clashes with Nationalist
forces, and the challenges and aspirations of Chinese Communists as they struggled for
their idea of a new China. It also delves into the political and social context of the Chinese
land, which was deeply rooted in the communist movement. Edgar Snow returned
to Beijing after four years in Red territory in northwest China, where he held a press
conference in the United States embassy applauding the Communists.
Thus, this film illustrated Mao and Snow's crucial first meeting in greater detail, as well as
Snow's secret journey to the Red territories. This film received nominations for the 18th
China Film Huabiao Award in the categories of outstanding feature film and outstanding
film music.
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