Notable Cast: Zhu Yilong, Leo Wu, Ni Ni, Yang Haoyu,
Chen Minghao, Ni Dahong, William Franklyn-Miller, Li Jiuxiao, Wang Yiquan,
Kevin Lee
Living in the shadow of Hollywood, the big war story
blockbuster is essentially its own genre. Although Chinese cinema handily
receives the “jingoistic” label more often than not, let’s be up front and
honest here - they learned how to do it from Hollywood. And judging from Rescue
at Dongji, they’ve taken the classic war-film elements, given them a
Chinese cinematic twist, and let them rip. Rescue at Dongji is a
bombastic flick, layered with incredible performances, white-knuckle action,
and a heartfelt narrative that speaks universally. While it certainly feels
like it owes much of its success to lessons learned from previous films, it
does so in a way that makes it feel fresh, and that’s ultimately what
matters.
Part of what makes Rescue at Dongji (sometimes noted
as Dongji Rescue) so fresh is that it strikes a balance between the
rousing heroics and the war's innate brutality, which these films so often
miss. Its narrative is certainly centered on the village's heroics. The focus remains on two brothers, played by Zhu Yilong and Leo Wu - outcasts even on the island they were raised on, adopted by a local fishing family, and their relationship with each other and the life they live in the village. By focusing on them and then
building the settings around them, the film moves from being just a historical
action drama to a film about humanity. It’s an incredibly smart choice.
Directors Fei Zhenxiang and Guan Hu know how to make those
moments of humanity work in the film. The performances from Yilong and Wu are
incredible, nuanced, and layered, and the script and directors know to focus on
those little slices of humanity to give this film soul. The hidden romantic
relationship that Yilong’s character Ah Bi has with Ni Ni’s Ah Hua, the
relationship the brothers have with the quirky teacher on the island, or how
the island’s leader feels torn while under the pressure of the Japanese
occupation that has removed the villagers from living the lives they want. The
film spends a remarkable amount of time establishing these relationships and
the growing tensions with the Japanese military on the island to hammer home
the reason these fishermen (and women, a notable turning point in its latter
half for Ni Ni’s character) would want to save anyone's life.
This leads to the second part of the film’s tonal balance:
the innate brutality of war and the sadness it instills. Rescue at Dongji
does not hesitate to show gore and violence in full. Early on in the film, as
the villagers are being interrogated about a British soldier who has washed up
on shore from the sinking ship, Lisbon Maru, off the island, the film does not
hesitate to show the soullessness of its villains when they execute a child to
get their answers. There is no real nuance to the villains. They are evil
Japanese militants, and they exist in stark contrast to the soulful villagers
that the film is crafting. Is it reductive? Perhaps, but the themes and tone
work.
This is followed by a moment later in the film where one character is very much burned alive in front of his other villagers as a statement to the rising resistance towards the Japanese. In this moment, a villager goes to cover the child's eyes, and the child removes the hand to watch. This is the thesis of Rescue at Dongji. It’s not the big action set piece at the end where the bravery of the fishers roars loudly as the waves they navigate around a sinking ship. It’s this moment. It’s important to see the violence and horrors of war to understand what is at stake and why life is so precious for these people. Certainly, a moment that had me in a puddle of tears as this immolated character screams for no one to kneel. Again, is it subtle? No, but sometimes it's needed.
The execution of this tonal balance is impressive to say the
least. Even when the CGI effects falter a bit, particularly in the bigger set
pieces on the ocean, there’s a sense of realism to everything that carries it
through. The underwater photography is fantastic, and you’ll be hard-pressed to
find a more thrilling set piece than the finale that sees a massive fleet of
fishing boats pulling British soldiers from the sea as Japanese soldiers rain
bullets down, and the captains must sail around a massive whirlpool. The
performances are all just as effective as the action or spectacle, and since
the film spends so much time with its protagonists, their plight only becomes
more harrowing and tension-filled. Its bombastic score, the continually
building pace of the film, and the heroics of the “everyday” men and women are
on full display. Ah yes, this is a war film at its blockbuster best.
It’s notable that many criticisms of the film’s rather
jingoistic narrative are not inherently false. The film is definitely telling a
story about heroic Chinese men and women facing an overwhelming foe to help
their allies, and it is punctuated by real interviews with family members of
those involved in the historical incident that play over the end credits. So
it's not hiding its intentions. However, I have to give credit where credit is
due. Rescue at Dongji is also one hell of an effective one, with a
strong sense of both humanity and the reason to fight against oppressors at its
core, and an execution that uplifts it beyond its potential flaws.
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