Assembly (film)
Encyclopedia
Assembly is a 2007
Chinese films of the 2000s
This is a list of films produced in mainland China ordered by year of release in the 2000s. For an alphabetical listing of Chinese films see :Category:Chinese films-2000:-2001:-2002:-2003:-2004:-2005:-2006:-2007:...

 Chinese
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...

 war
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...

-drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...

 written by Liu Heng
Liu Heng
Liu Heng is generally seen as a realist writer. He became a professional writer in the 1970s after having worked as a peasant farmer, a factory worker and a soldier, classes which have served as fodder for his stories and, not coincidentally, classes which Mao Zedong promoted as the audience for...

 and directed by Feng Xiaogang
Feng Xiaogang
Feng Xiaogang , in is a Chinese film director. He is famous in China as being perhaps the most successful "commercialized" filmmaker whose comedy films do consistently well in the box office, although Feng has attempted to break out from that mold by making drama or period drama films...

. It stars Zhang Hanyu
Zhang Hanyu
Zhang Hanyu is a Chinese actor.-Biography:Zhang graduated from the Beijing Central Academy of Drama in 1988. He started his career by doing Chinese voice dubbing for films such as Shark Tale, The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and Troy...

, Deng Chao
Deng Chao
Deng Chao is a popular Chinese actor, member of National Theatre. He achieved success when he acted as a leading role in the modern comedian drama Cui Hua, Serve Suancai, please. After graduating from Central Academy of Drama, Deng became even greater success from his acting in the historical...

, Yuan Wenkang, Tang Yan, Wang Baoqiang
Wang Baoqiang
Wang Baoqiang is a Chinese actor. His debut role was that of Yuan Fengming in the movie Blind Shaft, for which he shared the Best New Performer prize at the 2003 Golden Horse Awards with Megan Tzengwon...

, Liao Fan, Hu Jun
Hu Jun
Hu Jun is a Chinese actor of Manchu ethnicity. He is known for his dramatic roles in various films and television series.-Filmography:-External links:***** - Official recognition fan site...

, Ren Quan and Li Naiwen.

The film was first released on December 20, 2007. It is among the first Mainland-produced films to portray the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

 in a realistic style. The film is an adaptation of the novel Guan Si (A Legal Case), which is based on the real-life account of a veteran army captain upholding his company's honor.

The film won the 2008 Hundred Flowers Awards
Hundred Flowers Awards
The People's Hundred Flowers Film Festival or Hundred Flowers Awards, equivalent the China's Golden Globes, are considered, together with the Golden Rooster Awards, the most prestigious film awards in China...

 and the 2009 Golden Rooster Awards
Golden Rooster Awards
China Golden Rooster Film Festival also known as Golden Rooster Awards are the most prestigious awards in film given in mainland China, equivalent the China's Academy Awards. The awards are given annually, beginning in 1981. The name of the award came from the year of the Rooster in 1981...

 for Best Film.

Plot

The story begins in 1948 during the Huaihai Campaign
Huaihai Campaign
Huaihai Campaign or Battle of Hsupeng was a military action during 1948 and 1949 that was the determining battle of the Chinese Civil War. It was one of the few conventional battles of the war. 550,000 troops of the Republic of China were surrounded in Xuzhou and destroyed by the communist...

 of the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

. Gu Zidi (谷子地), a PLA
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...

 captain, commands his Ninth Company in siege to a town defended by KMT
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...

 forces. After being ambushed, the company captures the town with severe casualties. The brutal death of his political officer
Political commissar
The political commissar is the supervisory political officer responsible for the political education and organisation, and loyalty to the government of the military...

 to an enemy field gun
Field gun
A field gun is an artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march and when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances, as to opposed guns installed in a fort, or to siege cannon or mortars which...

 in the fight causes Gu to order the shooting of the surrendering KMT prisoners, though the command is met mainly with refusal. As punishment, Gu is imprisoned, and he quickly befriends his cellmate: an army teacher and pacifist named Wang Jincun, who had been jailed for battlefield cowardice. Gu's commanding officer, Colonel Liu, soon sends Gu and his remaining 46 men off on a new assignment; to defend to the last man (with limited resources) the battalion's flank — an old mine on the south bank of the Wen River — and not to retreat until he hears the bugle call
Bugle call
A bugle call is a short tune, originating as a military signal announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. Historically, bugles, drums, and other loud musical instruments were used for clear communication in the noise and confusion of a...

 for assembly
Assembly (bugle call)
Assembly is a bugle call used to call in a group of soldiers or scouts. It is also sometimes referred to as "Fall in"....

 with the regiment. Gu also receives permission to take Wang as his new political officer.

Just as the 48-man platoon fortifies the position, the Kuomintang suddenly attack with superior artillery, infantry and tanks; the company fiercely fends off two waves of enemy assault, while Gu orders the dead and severely wounded to be carried into the mine. Barely a handful are alive when his mortally burnt adjutant officer
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...

 recalls hearing the bugle call in the distance. The others begin to say that they heard the bugle as well, and allege that Gu, deafened by multiple explosions, was not able to hear it. Duty-bound, Gu resolves to stay, which moves the remaining men to follow him and fight to their death.

An undetermined amount of time later, Gu is seen in an army hospital as the only apparent survivor, but due to sudden changes in the Army's unit structure he is unable to find his regiment, thus leaving him unable to prove his accounts of the battle.

Guilt-ridden, Gu goes on to fight in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 as a foot soldier
Foot Soldier
The term foot soldier may refer to:* A generic term for members of the infantry* Characters in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series belonging to the Foot Clan* The Foot Soldiers, a comic book originally published by Dark Horse Comics...

 and is wounded by a landmine after saving his platoon commander, Zhao Erdou, during a spotting
Artillery observer
A military artillery observer or spotter is responsible for directing artillery fire and close air support onto enemy positions. Because artillery is an indirect fire weapon system, the guns are rarely in line-of-sight of their target, often located tens of miles away...

 mission. At the end of the conflict, he recovers and returns to the old battlefield, determined to restore glory to his lost men, only to find the mine reactivated and the old entrance buried under a ton of coal. Encountering Wang Jincun's widow and Zhao Erdou during his search, he convinces the two to marry. Zhao's help would then allow him to uncover records of Gu's old battalion, leading him to Colonel Liu's grave and its keeper — his unit's former bugler, from whom he learns that the assembly call was never sounded at the Wen River battle; instead, Gu's company was sacrificed to hold off the KMT so that Liu and the rest of the regiment could retreat.

Realizing he is now his company's only living witness, he camps out in a mining hut near the old battlefield and starts to dig at the huge coal pile daily with a pick and shovel, despite protests from the miners. A month into his ordeal, the old battalion's political commissar is found, and the men are finally honored through an official notice, but Gu remains inconsolable, as he still cannot unearth the bodies.

A memory then surfaces of the Wen River battle: Gu and a critically wounded Wang are the sole survivors, and after pulling the last of the dead into the mine, Gu orders Wang to blow it up to prevent the corpses from being captured. Wang carries out this order before dying, as Gu is knocked unconscious in a final cannon shootout with enemy tanks.

Years later, excavations for an irrigation project eventually unveils the hidden tomb containing Gu's men; a large monument is erected and a formal burial performed, finally putting Gu at peace.

Critical reception

The film was a massive box office success, particularly in mainland China.

Perry Lam, in Muse
Muse (Hong Kong Magazine)
Muse is a bilingual Hong Kong-based multimedia publisher specializing in content related to Hong Kong's art and culture scene.. Until December 2010, Muse published an award-winning monthly arts and culture magazine...

 Magazine, gave a mixed review: 'There is a huge discrepancy between the sophistication of the filmmakers in their knowledge and application of state-of-the-art techniques, and the naivety and bad faith they place in the value of unquestioning obedience to authority and sacrifice as the highest manifestation of patriotism.'

Kozo, reviewed the film at Hong Kong Asian Film Festival 2007, felt that Assembly is a safe commercial movie that doesn't offend anybody. "In Assembly, war is never really portrayed as a "cause". The human element is the main focus here, and the sacrifices made by soldiers are to be honored because they're people, and not members of one side or the other."

Sequel

Soon after the release of the film, a sequel named "Assembly 2: The Cold Flame" (集结号2-烽火) was already in the works: it was released in March 2008, and also starred actor Zhang Hanyu
Zhang Hanyu
Zhang Hanyu is a Chinese actor.-Biography:Zhang graduated from the Beijing Central Academy of Drama in 1988. He started his career by doing Chinese voice dubbing for films such as Shark Tale, The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and Troy...

 in a leading role. This particular movie centers on the relationship between a wounded KMT soldier and an orphaned girl during the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

 (the Chinese theater of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

), but unlike the original the film distinctly contains very few war scenes, focusing more on the personal drama that occurs between the characters.

Awards and nominations

45th Golden Horse Awards
Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards
The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962, by Government Information Office, Republic of China...

  • Won: Best Actor (Zhang Hanyu
    Zhang Hanyu
    Zhang Hanyu is a Chinese actor.-Biography:Zhang graduated from the Beijing Central Academy of Drama in 1988. He started his career by doing Chinese voice dubbing for films such as Shark Tale, The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and Troy...

    )
  • Nominated: Best Feature Film
  • Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay
  • Nominated: Best Visual Effects
  • Nominated: Best Action Choreography
  • Nominated: Best Sound Effects


2008 Hundred Flowers Awards
Hundred Flowers Awards
The People's Hundred Flowers Film Festival or Hundred Flowers Awards, equivalent the China's Golden Globes, are considered, together with the Golden Rooster Awards, the most prestigious film awards in China...

  • Won: Best Film


2009 Golden Rooster Awards
Golden Rooster Awards
China Golden Rooster Film Festival also known as Golden Rooster Awards are the most prestigious awards in film given in mainland China, equivalent the China's Academy Awards. The awards are given annually, beginning in 1981. The name of the award came from the year of the Rooster in 1981...

  • Won: Best Film
  • Won: Best Film Director
  • Won: Best Cinematography
  • Won: Best Original Music Score


11th Pyongyang International Film Festival
  • Won: Best Picture
  • Won: Best Director
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