‘The Eight Hundred’ Huayi Brothers

Within four consecutive (连续的) days, The Eight Hundred (《八佰》）became the first film this year to earn more than 1 billion yuan, according to the film information tracking app Maoyan. The film is based on the arduous (艰苦的) Battle of Shanghai in 1937, where around 400 Chinese soldiers defended a warehouse (仓库) against the invading Japanese army. To boost morale (士气), the commander Xie Jinyuan told enemies that they had 800 people standing guard at the warehouse. Speaking about the film, director Guan Hu hoped it would commemorate the heroes who fought for the Chinese people during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45). “You will see beyond cinema with the scenes about grassroots soldiers conquering their fear of death and how the glory of humanity comes from ordinary people in extreme situations,” Guan told China Daily.