and the misery that comes to those who are caught up in it is brought to frightening reality on the big screen in this masterfully filmed effort by Feng Xiaogang. The story of a Chinese regiment fighting against the Nationalists in the brutal civil war manages to tug at almost every human emotion. The protagonist officer who leads his men in a savage last stand is perfectly portrayed. The scenes of warfare in this movie are very well done and manage to do so without demonizing the enemy as in so many war films. For those of you who know such things, and there are many, the range of weaponry used in this film spans the the entire history of modern warfare for the Chinese from the 1920's on through the war in Korea and adds greatly to the intense realism of the film. Watch for the scene in which the Captain sees what has become of the old helmets once used by the soldiers.
The main character, Captain Gu Zidi, superbly played by Zhang Hanyu, cannot give up the memory of his lost men and never ceases in his struggle to have their memory honored. The portrayal of this struggle by this one man gives this film everything thing it needs for great drama. This work has a far stronger story than "Saving Private Ryan" and in modern cinema can only be rivaled by South Korea's "Tae Guk Gi". This is not only a great war film but is one of the very best films of any kind I have been privileged to see in recent years.
The main character, Captain Gu Zidi, superbly played by Zhang Hanyu, cannot give up the memory of his lost men and never ceases in his struggle to have their memory honored. The portrayal of this struggle by this one man gives this film everything thing it needs for great drama. This work has a far stronger story than "Saving Private Ryan" and in modern cinema can only be rivaled by South Korea's "Tae Guk Gi". This is not only a great war film but is one of the very best films of any kind I have been privileged to see in recent years.