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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
If you are in the mood for something that feels like a raw nerve, you should probably watch this. It is for anyone who likes old-school melodrama where people yell their feelings because the world is literally ending around them.
If you hate grainy footage or stories that feel like a call to action, you will probably find it annoying. It is not a relaxing watch. 🎬
The movie starts with these students—Wu Xiaowen, Chen Zhong, and the rest—hanging out and looking like they have all the time in the world. Then the news of the invasion hits, and everything changes instantly.
It is almost funny how fast they decide to go north. One minute they are talking about books, and the next, they are packing bags to go face an army.
There is this one scene where Bingyu is looking at her boyfriend. The camera stays on her face for a really long time. You can see her trying to be brave, but her eyes are doing something else entirely.
I noticed the costumes look a little too clean at first. Like they just walked out of a shop and into a war zone.
The way they talk about "the north" is strange. It sounds like a mythical place, not a geographic location. It’s like they are heading into a dream, even though it’s actually a nightmare.
I liked the performance by Zhanfei Gao. He has this way of standing that makes him look like he is constantly leaning into a strong wind.
Some of the acting is very big. Like, theatre-level big. People throw their arms around and gasp a lot.
It reminds me a little bit of the energy in A Militant Suffragette. Just that feeling of "we have to do something right now or we will burst."
There is a scene in a hallway where the shadows are all wrong. It makes the actors look like ghosts before they even get to the battlefield.
They look so young. That is the thing that kept hitting me. These are kids who should be worried about exams, not bullets.
The movie doesn't really care about the politics of the war. It cares about the feeling of the war. It’s about the heat in the blood, which I guess is what the title is getting at.
I found myself wondering what happened to the extras in the background. Some of them look genuinely confused during the big crowd scenes.
There is one guy in the back of the classroom scene who is just staring at the ceiling. I couldn't stop looking at him. I wonder if he knew he was being filmed.
The sound quality is a bit rough in places. Sometimes the music drowns out the talking, which is actually a relief because the music is pretty good.
It feels a bit like The Quitter in the way it handles pressure, but with a much higher stakes. Nobody is quitting here, though. They are all-in.
"We cannot stay here while the country burns."
That line is delivered with so much spit and passion. It’s bold. It’s also a little cheesy, but in a way that feels honest for the time.
The lighting in the nighttime scenes is very dark. I could barely see who was who for about ten minutes.
I think the movie gets better once they actually leave the city. The pacing picks up, and you stop worrying about the weird dialogue.
There is a moment on a train where the steam fills the whole frame. It looks like the movie is literally evaporating. It was probably a mistake, but it looked cool.
It’s weirdly similar to East Lynne in its heavy emotional beats. It just wants you to feel something, even if it has to scream it at you.
The ending doesn't feel like an ending. It feels like a beginning, which I guess was the point for the people watching it back then.
I noticed a dog in one of the street scenes that looked very happy. It was a very strange contrast to the crying students. 🐕
I don't think every character needed a back story. Some of them just show up and then we are supposed to care when they get into trouble.
The editing is a bit jumpy. One second they are in a room, the next they are miles away. It’s like the movie is in a hurry to get to the tragedy.
It doesn't have the polish of something like Traveling Saleslady, but it has way more heart. It’s not trying to sell you anything except a feeling of duty.
I keep thinking about the way they packed their books. They handled them like they were religious objects. It made me sadder than the actual fighting did.
If you watch it, pay attention to the way the camera moves during the farewell scene. It’s shaky, like the person holding it was crying too. Or maybe the tripod was just broken.
Either way, it works.
It is a heavy film, but it’s worth the time if you want to see how people used to tell stories about bravery. It’s not subtle. But bravery usually isn't.
I still don't know why that one guy was wearing such a small hat though. It really didn't fit his head.
IMDb —
1919
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