How Chinese propaganda films became watchable
Patriotic blockbusters are so entertaining people willingly buy tickets
IN 2021, THE year after China overtook America to become the world’s largest film market, “The Battle at Lake Changjin” became the highest-grossing film in Chinese history, and the second-highest of the year worldwide. It made over $900m, just behind “Spider-Man: No Way Home”.
The eponymous battle took place in 1950 during the Korean war and saw Mao Zedong’s army inflict a heavy defeat on America. The film, which was directed by Chen Kaige, a leading light of the “fifth generation” of film-makers who sprang to global prominence in the 1980s, has been especially popular among young Chinese. Social-media users have posted gushing reviews. Fans posted videos of themselves eating frozen potatoes and fried flour, like the soldiers in the film, in tribute to the hardships of that generation.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline "How propaganda became watchable"
From the January 20th 2022 edition
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