This movie is a rare gem in the Chinese movie industry that's seeing crappy movies bringing big revenues. After all, talent is talent. Talent refuses to be swamped by the toxic environment. The movie is shocking to watch. It's so realistic, dramatic and sad, that the weight is almost unbearable. It looked at a historical event with a new lens, a modern Chinese view. It calls Chinese people to rethink patriotism. In a time when your life is in grave danger and would vanish at any moment, your government sits there doing nothing and kicks you around as baggage and throws you to the enemy, and the enemy gives you food that saves you life. Do you pledge patriotism to the government? Do you blame the people who avert to work for the invader? What does patriotism mean when our government doesn't care about your life? Chinese history is full of sad stories, and the movie is one of the first that tells those stories in a realistic way, such as the irony that the moral of situation all falls on a foreign reporter.
The acting is respectable, especially in all the male characters. Some of the female actors are not well selected (including Xu Fan), and not well situated in settings.
Overall, a great movie for Chinese to relive a dark time, to rethink about many fundamental questions about Chinese culture and society. It is probably good for foreign viewers who have some knowledge of Chinese history and culture to appreciate the movie.
The acting is respectable, especially in all the male characters. Some of the female actors are not well selected (including Xu Fan), and not well situated in settings.
Overall, a great movie for Chinese to relive a dark time, to rethink about many fundamental questions about Chinese culture and society. It is probably good for foreign viewers who have some knowledge of Chinese history and culture to appreciate the movie.