Xiaogang Feng – Ji jie hao AKA Assembly (2007)

Plot summary: (from anutshellreview.blogspot.com)
Feng Xiaogang’s Assembly was the opening film at last year’s Pusan International Film Festival, and tickets were sold out in record time once they were made available online. Such is the faith (or curiosity) of the new film from the director who brought us movies like World Without Thieves, and martial arts Hamlet The Banquet. When you think of Chinese directors making a movie based out of Chinese history, you can’t help but imagine the massive amount of propaganda that get so blatantly infused into the story and especially the dialogue. But here, Feng managed to bring about a movie which goes beyond the usual ra-ra, and shows us that a movie with universal themes can also come out from what is essentially a war movie based upon China’s tumultuous era after WWII.

Assembly refers to the call of the bugle to retreat and regroup, and this is the call that Captain Gu Zidi (Zhang Hanyu) and his 47 men of the 9th Company, 3rd Batallion, 139th Regiment, are keenly listening out for, as they go about their mission in ill-equipped fashion, holding fort on a strategic plain. Sent to the frontlines for war-crimes, Captain Gu and his men, while being the best at trench warfare, find themselves severely lacking in essentials – manpower, ammunition and heavy weaponry, as they go up against the marauding forces of the Nationalist army, with their relatively superior armour. However, their mantra is old school – only the bugle will signal their fall behind, and everything else means fulfilling their mission objectives at all costs.

Ultimately, Assembly is an ambitious film. It combines drama and action, and in both aspects, doesn’t hold back in bringing about the best it probably could. Kudos go to actor Zhang Hanyu who plays Captain Gu, in what can be essentially a one man show, putting focus of his place in history and his solo fight against the system. And after watching this, you’ll probably won’t hesitate to watch another war movie coming out of China, if they meet the benchmark set by Feng Xiaogang. Recommended!

1.37GB | 01h 59m | 704×304 | avi

https://nitro.download/view/543F339C737898C/Assembly-2007-Xiaogang_Feng.CD1.avi https://nitro.download/view/2D372D79D457035/Assembly-2007-Xiaogang_Feng.CD1.idx https://nitro.download/view/6FEE32DF3D35E9E/Assembly-2007-Xiaogang_Feng.CD1.sub https://nitro.download/view/F2550A5974D4476/Assembly-2007-Xiaogang_Feng.CD2.avi https://nitro.download/view/F1EA33DDB9DB56E/Assembly-2007-Xiaogang_Feng.CD2.idx https://nitro.download/view/5E9945B85312160/Assembly-2007-Xiaogang_Feng.CD2.sub

Language(s):Mandarin
Subtitles:Chinese/English (.sub/.idx)