8/2020: The Eight Hundred

 The third version war film, postponed from 2019 and dared to release during COVID-19 time, is the latest one after 80 years of the true story. You dared to show, so I braved to watch. Although the showtime when I watched looks like a ghost town, only 5 people including me sat frigidly with very loud speakers throughout 150 minutes into 4 days of heart-wrenching defense. It broke through the global top box office this year.

The Eight Hundred is a movie about 452 that fake to be 800 soldiers of the 88th division, part of the Republic of China army during World War II in 1937. A small battalion on behalf of the 40 million Chinese and Allied (the U.S., British, and French) in the last part of Shanghai fought against the Imperial Japanese army invasion. Their station was the old warehouse next to the Wusong River (Suzhou Creek). Today, we call them the 88th division soldier of the Shanghai warehouse.

The battlefield on the north bank was so dangerous and all buildings were ruined by the war while the beautiful city on the south bank was so safe and lively nightlife as a green zone for the international settlement of Shanghai. It's like hell and heaven, but between them was a small creek. It was so harrowed for people from both sides of the bank.

Most soldiers in the north bank were fear. They all wanted to go home and see their family. One scene that touched my heart was that the immediate decision changed from fear to courage, soldiers with suicide bombs queued up to jump out to the wall to protect their base. They had a new life!

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800 men were used to boost the morale of 40 million Chinese people after the losses of Beijing and Shanghai. They ran through bullets across the bridge into the green zone. It was a political war to get support from the other nations who watched from the opposite side of the river.

This strategy still uses for the inferior side like the new generation protesters in many countries. They fought with freehand and incited to use armed force to call for international support.

The commentary for this movie is that some people have to stand as the last line before danger hits people. The movie compared these men with General Zhao Yun in the Three Kingdom legend, the sacrifice.

Today, the town is changed drastically. New highrise buildings in the south bank replaced the old ones not leaving the original remain, but only the warehouse in the north bank as their base is still there as their aim.

 This post is dedicated to my grandpa who lived in China during the invasion and told me hundreds of times of his story, and all life spirit of the 88th division that risked their lives in the warehouse as a brave story to tell to the next generation.

“When I turn to dust, you will see my smile”.

The Eight Hundred.