Movie tribute to Korean War heroes in final stage

Shooting for the highly anticipated epic Chinese war movie “The Battle at Lake Changjin” is in its final stage. 

Following last year’s “Sacrifice,” it is another movie that pays tribute to the bravery of the People’s Volunteer Army of China in the Korean War (1950-53).

The film is a joint effort of celebrated Chinese filmmakers, Chen Kaige, Hark Tsui and Dante Lam. The movie also enlists the nation’s premier actors, including Wu Jing, Duan Yihong and Zhu Yawen. 

Ti Gong

The plot is centered on how Chinese soldiers won the battle at Lake Changjin (also known as battle of Chosin Reservoir) in extreme weather conditions. The fight between the United States and China, which took place from November 27 to December 24 in 1950, is regarded as one of the fiercest battles of the Korean War and a turning point, which eventually led to a favorable outcome.

Both China and the US sent their elite troops into battle. The Chinese company used a successful strategy to split the US troops under sieges. Finally, Chinese soldiers managed to force the American corps to evacuate, which laid the foundation for the armistice negotiations.

Yu Dong, chairman of Bona Film Group and the film’s producer, says the movie is a tribute to the hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers who died in the Korean War. 

Yu revealed it took them five years to revise and polish the script and two years to prepare for shooting the movie, while up to 70,000 extras were used in the war scenes. 

Actor Wu Jing, known for his box-office success with “Wolf Warriors” plays a company commander in the film. He is touched by the dedication, fearlessness and faith of the Chinese soldiers under such difficult circumstances.

Chen, known for his Palme d’Or award-winning feature “Farewell My Concubine,” said the film was a challenge to all the crew to depict the courage and touching stories of the People’s Volunteer Army of China.

Lam, whose credits include “Beast Cop” and “Operation Red Sea,” compared the shooting to a “battle” in itself. Lam says the film crew was determined to make a meaningful film.

Tsui, famous for his action movies “The Taking of Tiger Mountain” and “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame,” said he learned a lot from Chen and Lam in directing the epic film. Tsui confessed he was excited to be part of such a huge film project.

The movie is expected to hit cinemas across China later this year.