The Korean War is the historical backdrop of the “anti-American” film “Geumgang River”, which was released in major Chinese cinemas on the 23rd of this month. After 70 years, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), is leading a high-profile commemoration of the “Anti-American War”. The Korean War is back in the public eye in many ways.
It is a war movie that combines patriotism and anti-American ideological propaganda to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Volunteers’ resistance to the US and aid to the DPRK.
Actor Wu Jing was famous for directing and starring in another nationalist film, “Wolf Warrior”, which gave China the name of “Wolf Warrior Diplomacy”, as it was said that China insisted on peace, but because there were wolves in the world, China needed “Wolf Warrior” to defend its national dignity.
The movie “Geumgangchon” tells the story of the last phase of the Korean War in 1953, when the Volunteers were preparing for their last major battle, the Battle of Geumgang, in Kimseong, North Korea. In order to devote more combat power to Geumseong, the volunteers built a bridge on the nearby Geumgang River outside the city while fighting the U.S. Army to ensure the passage of their troops through the river.
The movie set a record for the first showing of a movie in mainland China, with 186,000 screenings, and is expected to set another record at the box office, but Douban, the benchmark website for movie reviews in mainland China, only gave it a score of 6.5 out of 10. Making Money”.
It is reported that “Jingochuan” started filming in August this year, and it was released in less than three months after the completion of all the filming and production processes.
Many Chinese netizens said that many state-owned enterprises in mainland China organized the movie, and some cinemas put up advertisements that “enterprises and public institutions are welcome to book the show”. On October 24, People’s Daily, one of the investors, reported that the movie is “a work that continues to write the Chinese spirit, national self-confidence and people’s pride.
According to the commentary, the shooting method of “Jinganchuan” is indeed different from the “Hengdian anti-Japanese divine drama” that clowns the enemy, but the thematic content is still based on the framework set by the SARFT. This shows that the new generation of Chinese directors are conscious of internationalizing Chinese cinema, but the main theme of the film is still manipulated by the CCP in an attempt to promote ideology among young people.
However, many netizens said that the director “sat on his buttocks a bit crooked”, insulted the intelligence of the volunteers and the American troops, copied the Hollywood style, and failed to arouse the sympathy of the fans, forcing the whole film to be sensational.
In addition, the Korean War-themed animated film “The Loveliest People” and the CCTV documentary “Defending Our Country Against America and the North” have also been released recently. At the same time, the National Film Administration approved earlier this month the production of another Korean War film, “The Coldest Gun,” which will be directed by famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China in 1979, there have been very few Chinese films on the subject of the Korean War. In recent years, however, U.S.-China relations have froze in the 40 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, due to issues such as trade wars, the new coronary syndrome virus and human rights.
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