''Bridge'' () (also known as ''The Bridge'') is a 1949 Chinese

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

made shortly after the

Chinese Communist Revolution The Chinese Communist Revolution was a social revolution, social and political revolution in China that began in 1927 and culminated with the proclamation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. The revolution was led by the Chinese C ...

; as such, it is considered the first feature film completed after the founding of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. As a film, ''Bridge'' set many of the themes that would dominate the Socialist cinema of post-1949 China, including the glorification of the worker and the conversion of the intellectual to Communism.Zhang, p. 192.

Plot

During the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

, a railroad factory is commissioned by the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

to repair a bridge. Led by a skeptical engineer who does not believe the bridge can be completed in time, the factory workers lack enthusiasm and morale. The project is galvanized, however, by the work of Liang Ruisheng ( Wang Jiayi), who inspires his fellow workers to complete the project for the war effort. In the process, even the engineer is converted.

References

;Sources *Berry, Chris. ''Postsocialist cinema in post-Mao China: the cultural revolution after the cultural revolution''. Routledge (2004). . *Zhang, Yingjin. ''Chinese national cinema''. Routledge (2004). .

External links

*
''Bridge''
at the Chinese Movie Database 1949 films 1940s Mandarin-language films 1940s war drama films Chinese black-and-white films Chinese war drama films 1949 drama films {{1940s-China-film-stub