The Birth of New China = Kai Guo Da Dian

This is a detailed retelling of the events leading up to and following the Communists’ triumph in the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949), from the perspective of the two leaders of the contending parties. Although there is a distinct agenda in the narrative, the film attempts to display an objective point of view, examining quite closely the human strengths and flaws of the leaders of both sides. While the film takes a distinct moral position, there is a distinct shift in narrative approach from films of the pre-Cultural Revolution period.

Jiang Kai-Shek, leader of the Kuomintang (Nationalist) party is shown to be a worthy adversary to Chairman Mao Zedong. The Nationalists have so far outgunned and outmanned the Communists. All the Reds have going for them is the support and respect of the common people, what Mao calls “the heart and soul of China”. Jiang ends up being defeated and flees to Taiwan, vowing to return and crush Mao.

On February 3, 1949, Communist army enters Beiping, where Mao gives his famous speech (the original footage is shown in part). Meanwhile, Jiang laments his defeat, explaining in hindsight how the Kuomintang overthrew itself. The sore point of the film for the Mainland Chinese is the so-called “stripping of wealth and treasures” from China, transporting them overseas to Taiwan. This was an epic operation, with shiploads of gold and cultural treasures being secretly transported to Taiwan over the final months of the war.
Celebrating the 40th Birthday of the People’s Republic of China (1949)
(3 stars: James Donald; June 10, 2011)