湄公河行動 - Operation Mekong

湄公河行動 (Operation Mekong) is a 2016 film out of Zhong Guo. The movie stars Eddie Peng and Zhang Hanyu. The movie is based loosely on Mekong River massacre.



13 crew members of a cargo shipment are murdered and dumped into the Mekong River. They are found a few days later floating and identified as nationals from Zhong Guo. The Zhong Guo government sends a underground team to find the corporates and bring them to justice. Leading the team is Gao Gang, played by Zhang Hanyu. Gao finds his undercover agent of theirs in Thailand that knows the country and gets the job done in Fang Xinwu, played by Eddie Peng. Together, they begin to investigate and peeled away at the layers of corruption and to find out who is responsible.



This movie was one of the few during that area to combined high octane action with the Zhong Guo military. The movies that followed in 2017 and 2018 with good action and the military have been very successful. I for one really liked this movie. They spent time unraveling the corruption of the land, reveal the characters background, and make you feel for the characters. At the end, I was pulling for Gao and Fang. I wanted them to make it.

風聲 - The Message

風聲 (The Message) is a 2009 film out of China. The person behind the film is Taiwanese film-maker, Chen Kuo-Fu. The film stars Zhou Xun, Li Bing Bing, Zhang Hanyu, Huang Xiao Ming, Alec Su, Wang Zhi Wen, and Ying Da. The film is based in 1942 Nanjing during the Japanese occupation.



After the fall of the nationalist Chinese capital of Nanjing during the Nanjing Massacre, the Japanese have set up a puppet regime. But an underground resistance movement has been established and they have successfully assassinated many high level Japanese officers. The puppet government works in conjunction with the Japanese find that there may be a mole in their ranks. They than set out on a spy hunt. With a fake message sent and seen by only 5 people, these 5 are brought to a secluded castle where they are interrogated. One by one, they are subject to psychological games. Will any of these 5 survive? Will they turn on each other? What horrific methods will the captors be subjugated to?



The movie has a pretty star studded cast. Huang Xiao Ming plays the Japanese interrogator out to find the spy. Zhou Xun, Li Bing Bing, Zhang Hanyu, and Alec Su play the captors. Their job is the survive and get out alive. When put in that situation, how will you react?



I've been a big Alec Su and Li Bing Bing fan for many years now. From Alec Su's post military service days to Li Bing Bing's turn in wuxia dramas. I haven't seen much of Alec these last few years. Li Bing Bing has transitioned from a wuxia lady to leading lady. Although both have matured with age, they are still both very good.

Zhang Hanyu is starting to grow on me. Zhang has quietly established himself as one of the top tier actors of China.



I liked the movie for the most part. There are quite a few subplots that you won't see in the movie summaries that give the storyline added complexity and meaning.



The Message has done well at the box office in China and Taiwan so far. I don't think it'll make it here to the states other than in film festivals and eventually DVD. I bought an imported China version from a local DVD place for $10.

There are lots and lots of promo and press junkets for this movie. I've included some of the ones that I enjoyed.

The Assembly - 集結號

The Assembly (集結號) is a 2007 film out of China. The film stars Zhang Hanyu.

The movie starts with the Chinese Civil War in 1948. The CPC vs. the KMT. The battle sequences are "Saving Private Ryan" like. The first third of the movie is during the Chinese Civil War. Since this is a China movie, the CPC are the eventual winners of the War. The climatic war sequence is blacked out to Capitan Gu's troop making the ultimate sacrifice.

The movie shift than to the post war life of Captain Gu. Gu is trying to pick up his life after the war and make a living. Gu finds out that his troop is considered AWOL and not honored. Gu sets on a mission to say that his troop sacrificed their lives for the CPC and that they should be honored and not considered traitors. Gu's way proving this is to find their bodies. The site of the the troops last battle is now under tons of coal. Gu starts digging.

The movie doesn't go for or against sides of the war. The war happened, life needs to go on after. In that sense, it sidesteps any political statement.

The movie instead focuses on the life of Gu and those that come into it. Because of this, the movie succeeds in entertaining.

I thought the movie was good and recommend it.