Some of the best cinemagraphic depiction of combat that I have seen. The movie was in Chinese, making it more realistic; however, the English subtitles were presented very quickly and it was hard to follow the story. The intense action of the film tended to distract you from effectively reading the subtitles. Brian Ghilliotti

The concept of war has been familiar to the Chinese experience for millennia. While other people from different parts of the globe are no strangers to the phenomenon themselves, the Chinese do hold a special distinction. The ancient Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu, wrote The Art of War in the 5th century about 1500 years before the invention of gunpowder. Simply put, the Chinese have been writing and depicting war far longer than most of the world. Given this fact, it's more than a little shocking that the modern Chinese film industry seems more interested in martial arts style films than genuine war films. Fortunately, the 2007 film Assembly (集结号) offers a refreshing change of pace from the usual fare. For viewers looking for blood and guts, Assembly delivers within the first fifteen minutes. Perhaps Assembly is sometimes gratuitous with the amount of violence and carnage depicted on screen. But the real history is just as bloody. Perhaps the film is doing the real story justice. Assembly is based on the incredibly true story of Captain Gu Zidi, a People's Liberation Army veteran of the Chinese Civil War. In Assembly, Zhang Hanyu takes on the role of Zidi and depicts the soldier's story starting from his time in the People's Liberation Army during the Chinese Civil War to his service in the Korean War and retirement from military life. In many ways, Zidi is an embodiment of the People's Liberation Army. He was born poor, remains mostly illiterate throughout the film, and is left to face immeasurable odds by politicians and generals who couldn't care less about him. Zidi is not a caricature of a soldier. He is a soldier and consequently commits seriously heinous actions while engaging in war. In the opening scene of the film, Zidi guarantees himself a spot in hell by executing a number of unarmed nationalist soldiers in rage. During a dark time for the People's Liberation Army of China, Zidi meets with a Colonel who orders him and his unit to defend an abandoned mine until they hear the order to retreat which is the sound of a bugle. While giving these orders, the general appears so calm that even he seems to have forgotten the true hopelessness of the situation. The bugle call never comes and Zidi's entire unit is wiped out in the ensuing battle. Zidi survives the encounter, but since the bodies of his fallen brothers in arms are never recovered, all soldiers in Zidi's 9th Company are treated as nameless martyrs. Their sacrifice is mostly ignored. Assembly is the story of how Gu Zidi returns in his old age to the mine where his comrades in 9th Company valiantly gave their lives in order to find their bodies to gain proof so the government would recognize their sacrifice. Once you get past the gratuitous violence depicted in the war scenes, you begin to realize that Assembly is more than just a war film. It is a story of redemption. Not just for Gu Zidi and his lost comrades, but also for the government of China. Thanks to Zidi's efforts and through this movie's message, China can recognize the sacrifice of thousands of nameless martyrs who secured China's stability at the cost of their lives. It may be impossible to remember all of their names. But it is beyond shameful to try and forget. War is a manifestation of human tragedy. It is the culmination of mankind's worst attributes. What makes Assembly such a great film is that despite the gratuitous blood and violence, both of which there is no shortage of during times of war, the movie presents a clear anti-war message and ends on a poignant note.A running joke throughout the film is based on the fact that Captain Gu Zidi lacks a proper name. "Gu Zidi" as a name literally translates into the phrase millet field. It's almost absurdly generic. Yet, by the end of the movie, Zidi's name becomes legend and his efforts to preserve the legacy of his comrades in arms are both commended and rewarded. His name is remembered. Therein lays the real tragedy of war. As Gu Zidi discovered in his old age, names and sacrifices are more easily forgotten than they are remembered. In his old age, Zidi sees the endless piles of graves that have piled up as a result of the Chinese Civil War. Upon noticing that the majority of the graves in the scene lacked any references to names, Zidi ponders, "Their parent's gave them names. How did they all become nameless children? ". The ending title of Assembly informs the audience that the real Gu Zidi died at the age of 71 in 1987. He didn't die a nameless martyr. His name was given to him by a shoemaker who had found him abandoned by his parents when he was three months old. He was named Gu Zidi because the location where he was found happened to be a millet field.

Technically, this movie is excellent. It is well-acted, well filmed, and has a strong, compelling story. The problem is: the plot seems to be a rehash of countless Hollywood war movies, except that the actors are Chinese and the army is the Peoples' Liberation Army. This wholesale borrowing from the American war movie motif happens to work in this case. The protagonist, the Army captain, is a heroic figure who is worthy of respect. He keeps the faith with his men, and thus prevents them from being forgotten. His quest to preserve the truth is epic. He is the kind of soldier that every army wants. That the movie succeeds in virtually eliminating the polemical component intensifies the dramatic effective. The captain is not a so much a Red Army soldier but a soldier who happens to be in the Red Army. The opening battle sequence is used with great effect as a device to introduces the key characters. This is an excellent movie.

Internationally there are many excellent war that have been made in recent years, such as Russia's The 9th Company, Israel's Lebanon and France's Days of Glory. The producers of the really brilliant Korean film Brotherhood have returned now with a powerful Chinese war film.In the middle of the Chinese Civil War Captain Gu Zidi (Hany Zhang) is a skilled officer in the Communist army but when he disgraces himself he is given a suicide mission to hold an old mine at the South Bank of the Wen River with only 47 men. After his men fight with incredible bravery Gu is only survivor: but the picture is complicated because when he recovers his regiment is chopped and changed and the bodies are hidden in a mine. With no one believing him Gu returns to the army whilst proving his claims his men died as heroes.Saving Private Ryan has been a major influence on war films ever since and it is clear that the filmmakers of Assembly were trying to make a Chinese version of that film. The battle scenes were very similar, using hand-held camera which runs after and follows the troops and , giving the audience an intense feeling about the brutality of battle. There is realistic violence with blood flying all over the place and soldiers being blown to pieces. The action was handled tremendously with some of the best war scenes put to scene in recent years. There are some references to Saving Private Ryan, with the cinematography Yue Lu using a similar colour pallet, the beginning battle scene in an urban setting like the final battle in Saving Private Ryan and the use of an improvised drum artillery was like the sticky bomb in Spielberg's film. There are also clear influences from Brotherhood and Joint Security Area when a soldiers on a landmine. Even though Assembly is influenced by other films Assembly can easily stand on it's own two feet, with a strong story about a soldier suffering from guilt because of his scene of honour and duty prove that his men be classified as heroes like they deserve. Assembly is a film about the brutality of war, the guilt someone can feel, personal and collective redemption and someone trying to do the right and honourable thing.Xiaogang Feng directs a powerful film about how Gu Zidi fights against the odds in more ways then one. As well as the incredible action scenes, Feng is able to handle with skill the emotional drama, showing how Gu suffers and does everything he can to give his men respect after death. Lu's cinematography adds to this showing the beauty but harshness of the Chinese countryside, particularly in the winter to the dark environment of the coal mine. The warfare, costumes and buildings were similar to what it was like in the late 40s and early 50s and film does try to be balance, not making out the Nationalist or Communist to be good or evil. The editing and pacing is just about right, with a fitting running time. The film goes through event quickly and has a good running time of two hours: these films are often more like two and half to three hours, so it is nice to see a film that does not overstay its welcome. But Feng does skip over a few things that we should have seen, like the final battle and how Gu got off a mine.Zhang gives an incredible performance throughout Assembly, showing a wide range, making Gu into a likable character. He was able to show emotion both his voice and his facial and physical expressions. Zhang was also ably supported by the rest of the cast, making Assembly a worthy war drama.Highly recommended.