The Lives They Left Behind

First part of the Decisive Engagement trilogy. Directed by Pingfen Li et al.

Winner of the Golden Rooster for Best Film in 1992

Winner of the Golden Rooster for Best Film in 1992

Based on Zhou Keqin's excellent novel, Xu Mao and His Daughters weaves a story about the life and sufferings of Xu Mao, an aging peasant and his four daughters in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. They struggle to make ends meet since his wife's death. Preoccupied with worries, he loses touch with his maturing daughters. It takes the stubborn but kindly intervention of a woman making a governmental inspection tour to cause father and daughters to appreciate their loving family.

During the Sino-Japanese War, Commander-in-Chief Zhu De leads the Eighth Route Army in pivotal battles against the Japanese invaders.

Documentary about China's film industry and the monumental changes in the past 40 years from beginning with propaganda films to the "5th generation" filmmakers and beyond, who embraced art and commercial films to make China the second largest box office market in the world after Hollywood.