One and Eight is a landmark Chinese film

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...

 from 1983

1983 in film

-Events:*February 11 - The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York*May 25 - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the final film in the original Star Wars trilogy, is released. Like the previous films, it goes on to become the top grossing picture of...

. The film tells the story of eight criminals and a deserting Chinese officer in the communist Eighth Route Army

Eighth Route Army

The Eighth Route Army was the larger of the two major Chinese communist forces that formed a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China which fought the Japanese from 1937 to 1945. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Communist...

 caught in the midst of 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...

. Directed by Zhang Junzhao

Zhang Junzhao

Zhang Junzhao is a Chinese film director and screenwriter who was mainly active in the 1980s. A graduate of the Beijing Film Academy and a contemporary of such acclaimed directors as Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, and Tian Zhuangzhuang, Zhang Junzhao was a prominent early member of China's Fifth...

, One and Eight also features cinematography by the soon-to-be-acclaimed Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....

 and stars Chen Daoming

Chen Daoming

Chen Daoming is a famous Chinese actor known for his flexibility and longevity. He has been branded the Emperor of Chinese drama, having starred in all types of dramas and films....

. It is based on an epic poem by Guo Xiaochuan.

Significance

One and Eight constituted an early collaboration between the graduates of the 1982 class of the Beijing Film Academy

Beijing Film Academy

Beijing Film Academy is a coeducational state-run higher education institution in Beijing, China. The film school is the largest institution specialised in the tertiary education for film and television production in Asia...

 (notably classmates Zhang Junzhao and Zhang Yimou). As such it is often considered one of the first films to move towards the more artistic and experimental mentality that is the hallmark Chinese cinema of the 1980s.

In particular, the film's focus on humanism and personal conflicts signaled a paradigm shift away from the propagandistic films of the Cultural Revolution

Cultural Revolution

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...

.

See also

• Yellow Earth
  Yellow Earth
  Yellow Earth is a 1984 Chinese drama film. It was the directorial debut for Chen Kaige. The film's notable cinematography is by Zhang Yimou. At the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony on 27 March 2005, a list of 100 Best Chinese Motion Pictures was tallied, and Yellow Earth came in...
  
  (1984) - Chen Kaige
  Chen Kaige
  Chen Kaige is a Chinese film director and a leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese cinema. His films are known for their visual flair and epic storytelling.-Early life:...
  
  's debut film, and another early Fifth Generation film.

External links

• One and Eight at the Chinese Movie Database