Star attraction

By Liu Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-02 09:10

Huang says as China becomes more and more open, many more confidential stories can now be told.

To make a "real film instead of a propaganda flick", Huang also tries to present genuine characters with a rich personality.

"The war will only be a background, while the characters' feeling in certain historic moments is my focus," he says.

When the film depicts Mao Zedong on the plane to Chongqing to negotiate with Chiang in 1945, it presents a nervous Mao.

"In previous films Mao must be calm on the plane, as if everything is in his control, but it is not the truth. He was feeling tension, because the future was unknown," he says.

In the film, Mao also is shown laughing like a child and drunken, when he learns he has won a war.

His daughter looks at him, as if she cannot recognize that is her father.

The refreshing portrayal also applies to the Nationalists, often depicted as arrogant and corrupt bureaucrats in previous mainland films.

Chiang slumps down on the ground when his officer tells him he had lost the war to Mao's troops, and sits still for a long while.

His son runs toward him and cries: "Father, the ground is cold." At that moment he looks just like a sad old man.

"They are people, sometimes happy, some times nervous," Huang says.

"Today you can no longer portray historical figures flat. If you go to the former office of Chiang in Nanjing, you will find hundreds of books about him sold there, including his diaries.

"It is impossible to make a propaganda film to win your viewers today."

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