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Screening the Korean War in China ― The Battle at Lake Changjin I & II (2021-2022), The Sacrifice (2020) and Snipers (2022)

  • The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China
  • Abbr : JSLCKC
  • 2024, (71), pp.399-429
  • DOI : 10.16874/jslckc.2024..71.015
  • Publisher : Korean Society of Study on Chinese Languge and Culture
  • Research Area : Humanities > Chinese Language and Literature
  • Received : January 10, 2024
  • Accepted : February 20, 2024
  • Published : February 28, 2024

Lee, Jeong Hoon 1

1서울대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study examines three recent Chinese films that focus on the Korean War as the main subject—The Battle at Lake Changjin duology, The Sacrifice, and Snipers—with respect to how they merge genre traits associated with the commercial film on the one hand and the zhuxuanlu (主旋律), a genre of Chinese filmmaking often described as nationalist propaganda, on the other. The thematic focus is itself a break from the tradition since historical memory surrounding China’s participation in the Korean War remained an implicit subject of elision or evasion in China until recently. A notable feature of the three above films, moreover, is that while they rework these memories in conformity to the nationalist orientation of the zhuxuanlu, adapting the genre conventions to fit the current era of renewed Sino-American conflict, they also borrow liberally from Hollywood with respect to cinematic techniques. From characterization, plot development, to cinematography, these films mirror Hollywood’s own recent slate of successful combat films. Situating this phenomenon within the current geopolitical climate, the paper argues that the Korean War theme enables a posture of opposition to the US even while allowing the films to faithfully follow the production trend of the “New Mainstream Cinema.” Bringing together the disparate elements of the zhuxuanlu, namely its ideological orientation, and the blockbuster, which requires a concentrated investment of massive capital, in a fused form that appealed greatly to the contemporary Chinese movie-going public, the three films achieved great commercial success, appearing to present a new formula for success for contemporary Chinese cinema. At the same time, however, excessively Sinocentric interpretation of the history of the Korean War, combined with biases inherent in their patriotic worldview that individual sacrifice is to be taken for granted as the limitless duty one must perform for the nation, led to a proliferation of critical commentary and debate about the three films. The mediocre box office performance of The Great War (2023), which sought to recreate the formula for success, further casts doubt on whether the trend would lead to the establishment of a recognizable genre.

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