China Movie Channel (CMC)

A quiet physician from southern China masters martial arts to protect his son and stop a corrupt governor.

An old retired puppet master has his quiet life disrupted his 6-year-old American grandson, who barely speaks Chinese.

Shot in stylish black-and-white, this three-act fable, set in wartime Chongqing, focuses on the indifferent rich, the head clerk on a farm, and some young intruders. Based on a 1943 short story, the film was directed by noted screenwriter Mei Feng.

The movie is based on a real historic event. During French's invading war against China in 1885, the French army took over Zhengnan Guan located in the Guangxi Province. Wishing to protect their beloved country, the 70 years old General Feng Zicai and his two sons volunteered to join the battle. The general understood it would be a difficult battle to win as the French soldiers held much more advanced equipment, resources and weapons. To show his devotion and determination, he brought his own coffin alongside with him to the war zone. He also utilized his experience with the Zhangnan Guan terrain to pave out strategies, made weapons applicable to their situations. These actions bolstered the morale tremendously, and prepared them well for the war. As a result, although the Chinese soldiers sustained heavy losses, they turned the tide of the battle and won.

The film is based on the development and transformation of Hekou Village in Rongcheng City, portraying the challenges faced by this small fishing village during the post-reform era. It tells the story of a once-prosperous village where the women, with little to do, spent their time playing cards and arguing. A retired village party secretary, aiming to restore positive village values, decides to launch a “Fishing Village Homestay” initiative to enrich their lives. Through shared efforts filled with both laughter and tears, the village women discover new life goals, and the homestay business thrives.

This film expresses feeling in a highly obscure way. It presents a seemingly desultory time period to tell the story of two generations. A young girl who’s confused about what lies ahead is sent to England to receive education from childhood. She indulges herself in cyberlove and cannot get herself out of the hurtful affair. A middle-aged father who’s perplexed about death left his hometown for Beijing when he was young. He feels helpless about the status quo of the state-owned film studio. Tortured by terminal disease, he gives up the hope to live on.