This daring political comedy caused a huge controversy on release in China and was banned from export for two years. An inoffensive engineer comes under suspicion of industrial espionage when he sends a personal telegram which makes a cryptic mention of a Black Cannon. The Security Bureau finds some “worrying” data in his personal file, for example he was raised as a catholic. An investigation is launched and the resulting chaos provides the basis of a tragi-comedy narrative in which the Chinese ruling class is daringly satirised. In Mandarin with English subtitles.
Content notification
Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.
Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.
How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
300207
Language
Chinese
Audience classification
G
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Foreign language films
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → China - Politics and government
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)