As part of the squad fighting in the “War to Resist U.S. The goal is to stave off a potential invasion by the United States at Changjin Lake in North Korea. Based on the critical two-week Chosin Reservoir campaign in the winter of 1950, the action concerns a contingent from the newly formed People’s Volunteer Army of the burgeoning Chinese state as it sets off on a preemptive offense. Chen’s most recent feature work was a segment of the propaganda anthology My People, My Country, so anyone surprised by the final product needs to pick up a newspaper.įor all the blustery, noisy action sequences in Lake Changjin - and there are at least two per act - there’s very little story. Lam ( Beast Cops) and Tsui ( Once Upon a Time in China) have been dabbling in big-budget Chinese fare for years, scoring hits like Operation Red Sea and The Rescue (Lam), and the Detective Dee series and The Taking of Tiger Mountain, whose snowy finale is repeated here. Nonetheless, the budget is mostly up on the screen, and it most definitely has gone to staff paychecks: Fifth Generation filmmaking giant Chen Kaige and Hong Kong action stalwarts Dante Lam and Tsui Hark co-direct.

Screenwriters: Lan Xiaolong, Huang JianxinĪdmittedly the COVID outbreak put a crimp in alleged plans for an American crew to contribute in China, but not even war movie pros would have been able to do much with the execrable English dialogue. There are no onscreen English credits, as if no one expected anyone outside the People’s Republic to watch.Ĭast: Wu Jing, Jackson Yee, Hu Jun, Zhang Hanyuĭirectors: Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, Dante Lam Reported to have a Marvel-size $200 million budget, the film ticks all the boxes expected of a rousing slice of nationalist entertainment (it’s not even trying for soft power) that’s directed squarely at domestic Chinese audiences. 1 release timed for China’s National Day holiday, making it the biggest box office hit of 2021 in any market. The monster blockbuster has racked up nearly $900 million since its Oct. Historical fact goes out the window in favor of propagandist myth-making in the Chinese war epic The Battle at Lake Changjin.

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