Chinese Communist Party centenary film 1921 tops box office – but is it anything more than propaganda?
- The film has an all-star cast, but some viewers felt let down and say they struggled to stay awake
- By contrast, patriotic fans of the movie said some scenes moved them to tears
Co-directed by Huang Jianxin and Zheng Dasheng, 1921, which tells the story of the founding of party 100 years ago, hit the cinemas on Thursday.
It features a star-studded cast portraying many of the leading figures of the era, including Mao Zedong played by Wang Renjun.
According to the China Movie Data Information Network, the film took 81.60 million yuan (US$12.6 million) on its opening day, and 44.2 million yuan the next day. Ticket sales would top more than 250 million yuan by July 3 if preview screenings were included.
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But Shu Ziran, a movie buff who saw it before its cinema release at the Shanghai International Film Festival, was not impressed.
“It turned out to be another star-driven blockbuster – as expected,” she said.
The cast includes many big name actors such as Huang Xuan and Ni Ni, who are especially popular with young Chinese.
“The film funnelled so many big names, but few immersed themselves in their roles. I remained an outsider sitting in front of the silver screen instead of being pulled into the history,” she said.
Li Wen, a worker at a state-owned enterprise who said his company had “organised” a viewing session for employees, was also not impressed.
“The flow of the plot is so messy and bland that I almost fell asleep halfway into the movie,” he said.
However, Wang Yifan, a music teacher in eastern Shandong province, said she was deeply touched.
“I was deeply, deeply touched. I could not hold my tears back when Li Dazhao [one of the party founders] shouted slogans during the May Fourth Movement,” Wang said, referring to the 1919 student-led protests in Beijing.
“I am really grateful to see the history of the revolution on screen. There would be no People’s Republic of China had it not because of these pioneers – not to mention our happy life now.”
Wang added that she would gladly bring her parents to watch the film.
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Chris Berry, a professor of film studies at King’s College London, said propaganda and audience approval did not always go hand in hand.
“Prioritising the political message can sometimes alienate the audience,” said Berry, who has not watched the film.
He noted that previous efforts by the party have not always been successful, prompting filmmakers to try to make propaganda films more entertaining in an effort to lure audiences.
“It’s clear that there are substantial numbers of people going to see these films. What we don’t really know is – what are the different attitudes of those audiences? And what are their reasons for going to see the film?” Berry said.
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He said that while some people would watch out of patriotic or even nationalistic motives, others may be curious or want to see their favourite stars – and some may even have a cynical attitude and just want to laugh at it.
The film will be released in Hong Kong this week, and a release is planned in English-speaking countries such as the United States and Britain.
Yin Hong, vice-chairman of the China Film Association and a professor at Tsinghua University, said 1921 took a more humane and artistic approach to portraying the characters.
The main creators changed the way they shot the production to cleverly “hide” mainstream values into the plot, he said, according to China National Radio.
Chinese actress and filmmaker Jia Ling applauded the movie, saying Huang fleshed out every character.
“Faced with the distress of the nation, the revolutionary forefathers in the early days of the founding of the party confronted death with faith and firm conviction … This is awe-inspiring,” she said on her microblogging account, calling on the public to go see the production.
