''Sparkling Red Star'' is a 1974 Chinese film and one of the very few films produced in China 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 ...

. Co-directed by Li Jun and Li Ang, the film is a mix between 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 ...

, a

children's film A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that generally relates to children in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for a general audience, while family films are made f ...

and a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

. Today, given the heavy-handed political message and state control of the ''Sparkling Red Star's'' story and production, it is generally considered a

propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...

.Zhang & Xiao, p. 119. The film was

remade Bas-Lag is a fictional universe in which several of China Miéville's novels are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic (referred to as thaumaturgy) and steampunk technology exist, and where many intelligent races live. This world and the nove ...

in 2007 as an animated tale.

Plot

The film tells the story of Pan Dongzi, a teenager and son of a

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

army officer. When the father is called off, he leaves Dongzi a

red star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

as a symbol of the cause. While he is away, a

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...

, Hu Hansan, returns to Dongzi's village where he exacts revenge upon the peasants who had forced him out. In the process, Dongzi's mother is burned to death in their home. Hardened by his mother's death, Dongzi joins a band of guerrilla fighters and eventually kills his former landlord. When his father finally returns, Dongzi joins him as the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

's newest recruit in the fight against the Japanese during

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 ...

Notes

References

*Zhang, Yingjin & Xiao, Zhiwei. ''Encyclopedia of Chinese Film''. Taylor & Francis (1998). .

External links

''Sparkling Red Star''
at the Chinese Movie Database 1974 films Chinese war films Chinese children's films Chinese propaganda films Maoist China propaganda films Guerrilla warfare in film Films about landlords Films about the Chinese Civil War {{1970s-China-film-stub