Customer Reviews

Spring River Flows East (Two-Disc Special Edition)

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After the war, Chinese filmmakers wasted no time in telling tales of Japanese oppression, the fight to liberate China and its realities of the aftermath of war, and it wasn't all parades and celebrations.

After "Eight War Torn Years," it was clear that the upper class Chinese were guilty of overindulgence while citizens in the countryside fought the dirty fight. Nowhere is it more clearer in this Chinese masterpiece which runs over three hours long, but tells a sprawling tale of one man Zhang Zhongliang whose heroism working for the army medical corps was questionable to say the least.

Forced to flee to the city of Chongqing, his family is left doing all the hard work. Finding himself unemployed, he hooks up with a rich ex-girlfriend and ends up marrying her, living in the lap of luxury and questioning just what it was he had been fighting for.

Meanwhile his wife Sufen, played by the wonderful veteran actress Bai Yang, is left to take care of their son on their own, believing her husband to be dead. Her final plea to her son to be like his uncle, not his father, is heartfelt and poignant. Like most Chinese women that preceded her, she represents China herself, betrayed but determined to fight on.

The quality of this film is much better than previous Cinema Epoch releases in their Chinese film series. This film has survived better and is likely hailed as a classic. There are many films made during this era centering on the disillusioned war veterans and their inability to find their way back into a peaceful society, but this film did it the best.

Contrary to what you might expect from the product description, there are no English subtitles on this product. The movie is decent, but it's only for those who know Chinese!