''The Chinese Widow'' (), also known as ''In Harm's Way'' and ''The Hidden Soldier'', is a 2017 Chinese

war drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

film directed by Danish director

Bille August Bille August (; born 9 November 1948) is a Danish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer of film and television. August's 1987 film ''Pelle the Conqueror'' won the , Academy Awards, Academy Award and Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Awar ...

, starring

Liu Yifei Liu Yifei (; born August 25, 1987) is a Chinese-born American actress. She has appeared multiple times on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list and was named one of the New Four Dan actresses of China by Tencent Entertainment in 2009. She is k ...

and

Emile Hirsch Emile Davenport Hirsch (born March 13, 1985) is an American actor. His portrayal of Chris McCandless in '' Into the Wild'' (2007) earned him acclaim and multiple award nominations. Other notable roles include '' The Girl Next Door'' (2004), '' ...

. The film premiered at the 2017

Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF, , French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai'') is the largest film festival in Asia and China's longest-running international cinema event. The first festival was established in Octobe ...

as the opening film and was released on 10 November 2017 in mainland China.

Plot

Jack is a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

pilot assigned to carry out the first US bombing run on Tokyo. After the mission succeeds, his plane is separated from the rest of the squadron due to bad weather. Running on low fuel, he is forced to fly towards China's

Zhejiang Province ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

. Due to a malfunctioning autopilot, he is forced to fly the plane manually while his crew parachutes out and he jumps out in the last moment before the plane crashes. The next day, his unconscious body is discovered by a local widow named Ying, who lives with her daughter Nunu weaving silk. She hides him in a nearby cave with the help of her childhood friend and village head, Kai. Soon after, the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

(IJA), who have already captured and executed the rest of Jack's crew, come in search of Jack and capture the village. They hold Kai at gunpoint, demanding to know where the pilot is hiding. Kai refuses to do so and is executed. Nunu urges Ying to tell her grandparents, but Ying does not, remembering Kai's advice not to tell anyone. The next day, she goes to the cave with some food and, seeing Jack conscious, leaves it there and returns before he can confront her. The Japanese army sends search patrols in the jungle and Ying is forced to bring Jack into her house. Although distant at first, Jack quickly befriends Nunu by whistling

Yankee Doodle "Yankee Doodle" is a traditional song and nursery rhyme, the early versions of which predate the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today. It is the state song of the U.S. ...

to her. Jack is able to convey to Ying that he has to go to

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

where the US Army base is. She hides him in the basement, while she tries to find a way to contact the Chinese guerrillas to get him a safe passage. One day, while Nunu is in her school, the IJA Captain Shimamoto comes into Ying's house and attempts to rape her, only to be shot in the head by Jack. They hide the body in the basement and, as Jack consoles Ying, they form an intimate bond. In school, Nunu accidentally whistles Yankee Doodle which is noticed by her teacher. The teacher then rushes to Ying's house with Nunu and on confronting Jack, reveals that he is with the Chinese guerrillas. When Jack shows him the captain's body, he tells Ying and Nunu to escape along with Jack, as the IJA will execute them once they find out. While they make their escape, the IJA find the body and pursue the group after torching the village. The Japanese eventually catch up and fire on them; the teacher stays behind with a few guerrillas to slow them down, and is killed. With the group only a few metres away from the escape boat, Ying is shot in the chest by a sniper. Devastated, Jack kills the sniper and barely escapes with Nunu and the remaining guerrillas. In Chongqing, he reports to General

Jimmy Doolittle James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his raid on Japan during World War II, known as the Doolittle Raid in his honor. He ma ...

, also expressing his wish to adopt Nunu. The general rejects his request, saying that Jack cannot be both a soldier and her father. Instead, Nunu will be given to a Chinese family living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Jack reluctantly accepts and bids Nunu a tearful goodbye. Fifty years later, an elderly Jack writes a letter to a grown-up Nunu saying that he was truly in love with her mother and, despite missing her every day, he has come to peace with himself. The address on the envelope in which Jack inserts the letter indicates that Nunu is at a San Diego, California address.

Cast

as Ying *

as Jack *Li Fangcong as Nunu *

Yan Yikuan Yan Kuan (; born 24 January 1979), stage name Yan YiKuan () , is a Chinese actor and singer. He is best known for his roles in the television series ''Taiji Prodigy'' (2002), '' The Prince of Qin, Li Shimin'' (2005), '' The Last Princess'' (200 ...

as Kai *Yu Shaoqun as teacher *Tsukagoshi Hirotaka as Captain Shimamoto *

Vincent Riotta Vincenzo Ricotta (born 14 October 1959), professionally known as Vincent Riotta, is a British actor. Career Riotta studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He went on to perform in various stage plays, such as William Shakespeare, Shakesp ...

Gong Hanlin Gong HanLin ( zh, s=巩汉林, t=鞏漢林, p=Gǒng Hànlín; born 20 October 1957) is a Chinese actor and xiangsheng performer and sketch comedy performer. Gong is notable for performing sketch comedy in CCTV New Year's Gala since 1990. Biogr ...

as Ying's father-in-law *Jin Zhu as Ying's mother-in-law *

Gallen Lo Gallen Lo Ka-leung () is a Hong Kong actor and singer who primarily acts in television series. He is sometimes credited as King Gallen or Law Ka-leung. Career Lo started his television career in 1984 at ATV. He received short-term success in a ...

as Captain Xu *Gong Tiankuo as Lieutenant Sun *Shu Yaoxuan as hawker *

Vivian Wu Vivian Wu ( Wu Junmei; ; born February 5, 1966) is a Chinese and American actress.Chen Nan ''China Daily'', 27 April 2007. Starring in a variety of North American and Chinese productions, her big break came in 1987, when she appeared in the biog ...

as a middle aged Nunu (the character did not appear in the final cut of the film but was credited with a special acknowledgment).

Release

The film was released in

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 ...

(10 November 2017), the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(2 November 2018) and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(14 November 2018). In France, the film was released with an alternative English-language title: ''The Lost Soldier''.The Lost Soldier
/ref>

Awards and nominations

*Nominated -

Golden Goblet Award for Best Feature Film The Golden Goblet Award for Best Feature Film () is the highest prize awarded to competing films at the Shanghai International Film Festival. Awards Winners References

{{SIFF Chron Shanghai International Film Festival, ...

References

External links