Cinema
One and Eight
一個和八個
Zhang Junzhao · 1983
Synopsis
In 1941, in Hebei, during the war against Japan, the Eighth Route Army holds eight prisoners, bandits, deserters and informers. Locked up with them is Wang Jin, a political instructor wrongly accused of treason. According to The Paper, the prisoners, led by a bandit nicknamed the Big Bald One, are preparing an escape that his presence disturbs; Wang Jin endures the injustice and gradually wins their respect. Then the Japanese troops approach, and the group has to fight.
Context
The film is based on a long poem by Guo Xiaochuan, adapted by Zhang Ziliang and Wang Jicheng. It was the first work of the team of young graduates that the Guangxi studio had just formed; Zhang Yimou and Xiao Feng did the cinematography, He Qun the sets. A screening at the Beijing film school moved the audience, according to The China Project, but the censors delayed its release: 1984 according to The Paper, 1987 according to The China Project. According to Sina, it was shown at the Montreal, Turin and Mannheim festivals. The China Project regards its director as a serious contender for the title of first filmmaker of the fifth generation.
Who it is for
A war film of about an hour and a half, whose heroes are mostly convicts; no French release has been established.
Prizes and reception
Its cinematography won Zhang Yimou the 1984 Chinese cinema cinematography prize, according to the NetEase portal.
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