CHINESE CINEMAGOERS are gearing up for the arrival of what is sure to be the biggest film of the year: a stirring propaganda epic called Jianguo Daye, or The Great Cause of China's Foundation, which features every star in the Chinese film constellation, including Jet Li and Jackie Chan.
The movie is a straightforward tale of the triumph of the Communist Party over the Kuomingtang in the civil war in 1949, paving the way for Mao Zedong to establish the People’s Republic of China.
Younger viewers usually avoid propaganda movies, preferring western films on pirate DVDs or the latest film from Hong Kong or Taiwan.
In an attempt to lure youngsters to watch The Great Cause of China's Foundation, it features more than 170 of China's top stars, including Li and Chan, as well as Zhang Ziyi of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,Stephen Chow of Kung Fu Hustle, and Hong Kong star Andy Lau. The film even features cameos by Chen Kaige, who directed Farewell, My Concubine, and action picture director John Woo.
The biggest film of this year so far has been Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, which in July overtook Titanicas China's biggest box office success on record, taking in 400 million yuan (€40 million) in receipts. But don't be surprised if China's Foundationtrumps even Optimus Prime and the Autobots at the cinema cashiers.
The 30 million yuan (€3 million) film has impeccable credentials. It is produced by the state-owned China Film Group and directed by its chairman and chief executive, Han Sanping.
It is scheduled for release on September 17th, two weeks ahead of the 60th birthday celebrations on October 1st. The stage is set for the movie to be a huge blockbuster. The national day celebration and the mid-autumn festival will be combined to create an eight-day holiday from October 1st to 8th, which will be the longest “Golden Week” holiday yet in China.
To ensure everyone does their cinema-going duty, Beijing cinemas are issuing 900,000 coupons to moviegoers to encourage them to watch patriotic and propaganda movies in the run-up to the 60th anniversary celebrations.
Cinemagoers in Beijing are receiving the coupons from the start of this month to September 20th, according to Wang Jian, an official with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Radio and Television. Almost one million people will go to the cinema during this period.
Then, from October 1st to November 30th, audiences holding a coupon will have to pay only 10 yuan, or about €1, for a ticket to any movie being shown, compared with an average ticket price of 34 yuan (€3.40).
Mr Wang said there would also be special screenings for orphans, children of migrant workers, and model workers.
“We hope all residents are able to share the achievements of China’s film industry during the past 60 years,” he said.
There has been a lively debate online over whether ethnic Chinese actors holding foreign passports should be allowed to appear in the film.
However, the issue is slightly moot, given that so many top Chinese stars have taken foreign citizenship, including Jet Li, who recently became a Singaporean citizen, and the Shanghai-born actor Wu Junmei, who plays Madame Chiang Kai-shek in the movie.
Most people will simply go to the film to see their favourite stars in action.
