The Sacrifice

2020 2h 2m ZH

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 58

WarHistoryActionDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1953 the Korean War is entering the final stage. The People's Volunteer Army of China has launched its last major battle in Kumsong. In order to arrive on time and deliver enough ammo to the Kumsong front line, the soldiers have to defend themselves against the never ending bombardments of enemy bombers and race against time to repair the last bridge, all while facing supply shortages and with inferior equipment.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Zhang Yi
张飞
Wu Jing
关磊
Li Jiuxiao
刘浩
Vision Wei
闫瑞
Deng Chao
高福来
Ou Hao
七连长
Qiu Tian
辛芹
Zhou Siyu
胡盛

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Guan Hu
Writers: Gao Linyang, Guan Hu, Ge Rui
Languages: Mandarin
Countries: China

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 6 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Guan Hu, shot by Liu Yin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Roc Chen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor He Yongyi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Zhang Yi and Wu Jing and Li Jiuxiao carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt13000980 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 58 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Guan Hu directs. Liu Yin behind the camera. Roc Chen scores. He Yongyi cuts. Produced in China. Dialogue in Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 6 years ago.
2Directed by Guan Hu, shot by Liu Yin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Roc Chen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor He Yongyi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Zhang Yi and Wu Jing and Li Jiuxiao carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt13000980 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 58 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Liu Yin
Original score: Roc Chen
Editing: He Yongyi
Costume design: Li Zhou
Makeup / hair: Yang Hong
Runtime: 122 min · 2h 2m
Status: Released
Box office: $161,047,608
Original language: ZH
IMDB: The Sacrifice (2020)

Also by

Guan Hu

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

jw2023-01-21
★ 5/10
The heroic struggle to bring a dynasty of nasty dictators to power. While the main topic is a military bridge to get troops across the river, most of the movie is about the AA gun crews, and the bomber crews. The dramaturgy is a bit over the place, but that happened in US war movies as well. Don't expect a dramatic arc or a conclusion. The heroism gets rather absurd though in the last quarter. Yes, it is a question of perspective; and that is the Chinese perspective. Sacrificing many, many Chinese lives to demonstrate military strength (which may make sense) and to bring the dictatorial family in North Korea to power. Sacrificing one's life not for the defence of one's homeland, but for a vile dynasty in another country - that is something one could be a little critical of, at least in retrospect. This film is a big production, with all the heroism and production values that Hollywood puts into their patriotic US films. It follows the usual, probably by now internationally standardised patterns; great cinematography, lots of extras running in period uniforms, explosions, gore, heroism, some CGI, suspense, drama; some hooks so the viewer can connect emotionally - it's all there, and reasonably well done. (The cuts are slightly annoying in their modernity.) And why not, a Chinese war movie. Switching the viewpoints between chapters is a good move, but no novelty. (It also saves money per screen-time, as often as they repeat scenes here.) If you were making a movie today from, say, Italian perspective supporting Hitlers rule, uncritically, that would have similar smell. With the tiny difference that Nazis Germany lost, and the open-air prison North Korea still exists today.

Production companies