''Letter with Feather'' () (also known as ''Urgent Letter'') is a 1954 Chinese film directed by Shi Hui and written by the playwright and filmmaker, Zhang Junxiang. A

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 ...

that was targeted at

children A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

, ''Letter with Feather'' focuses on a young boy who, through his wits, delivers an important message to the

8th Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially titled as the 18th Group Army, was a group army nominally under the banner of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China, established in 1937 as part of the Second United Front agains ...

while evading Imperial Japanese forces during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

Plot

Haiwa (Cao Yuanyuan) is a twelve-year-old boy and the son of a

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

leader. One day, he is entrusted with urgent dispatch that must be brought to the Communist

Eighth Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially titled as the List of Army Groups of the National Revolutionary Army, 18th Group Army, was a Field army, group army nominally under the banner of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of Ch ...

, which is fighting the Imperial Japanese Army in northeast China. The letter is marked with three feathers, indicating its importance. He embarks on his mission but must avoid the many Japanese patrols. At one point, he is forced to hide the dispatch under a sheep while posing as a shepherd. Later, he is captured by the Japanese who force him to act as a guide and scout. Using his wits, he leads the Japanese forces into an

ambush An ambush is a surprise attack carried out by people lying in wait in a concealed position. The concealed position itself or the concealed person(s) may also be called an "". Ambushes as a basic military tactics, fighting tactic of soldi ...

, where they are killed and he is rescued. Delivering the important letter, the Communist army is able to use the information contained therein to capture a Japanese commander.

Reception

''Letter with Feather'' was extremely popular in China, with its message of patriotism to children. Indeed, it was one of a handful of films made before 1966 that was widely available during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

.Clark, Paul, ''The Chinese Cultural Revolution: a history''. Cambridge University Press (2008), p. 150. . Abroad, the film was also well received, winning a Best Film Award at the

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...

in 1955.Zhang, Yingjin & Xiao, Zhiwei. "Letter with Feather" in ''Encyclopedia of Chinese Film''.Edited by Zhang, Yingjin & Xiao, Zhiwei. Taylor & Francis (1998), p. 215–216. .

References

External links

* 1954 films Mandarin-language war drama films 1950s Mandarin-language films 1954 drama films Second Sino-Japanese War films Chinese propaganda films Maoist China propaganda films Guerrilla warfare in film 1950s war drama films Chinese war drama films Chinese black-and-white films {{1950s-China-film-stub