Yi ge he ba ge (1983)

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1. 

   monty

   Regarded as the first film made by the new wave generation of mainland China. However, it displeased the censors and took several years to be re-edited to their liking. The original version is now almost certainly lost to us, but the released version still shows why it was a major novelty for Chinese cinema at that time.
   
   Set in 1939, during the ruthlessly bloody war between China and Japan, One and the Eight is centered around the story of nine Chinese soldiers held as prisoners by their own army under suspicion of conspiring with the Japanese enemy. The ‘one’ of the title refers to the solitary loner amongst the nine; he does not know the other eight and although they gang up on him, he remains strong and steadfast in the face of adversity, maintaining hs innocence. Another telling detail is that he is the only one of the nine prisoners whose real name we learn — it is Wang Jin. The ‘eight’ of the title are a group of eight men, seemingly bandits, far more cowardly and whose treason or desertion is far less in doubt.
   
   Through simple framing patterns, the first part of the film sets up a contrast of individual vs. collective, of conformity vs. non-conformity...It is not that much of a stretch to read a rejection of fundamental Chinese Communist Party doctrines, or at the very least a desire to seriously question them, in this favouring of the individual over the collective. Combined with its unorthodox depiction of a crucial part of Chinese communist mythology (the valiant battle of the Communist armies against the Japanese invaders), it makes it easy to see why the censors were none too pleased. 8 years 10 months ago

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