The opening credits list China Film Co. Ltd., Media Asia Films, Shanghai Film Group, and Tencent Pictures as production companies for this film. Thus the title of my review.
This movie runs over two hours but those two hours pass quickly as this story is presented. The film is beautifully photographed. All the actors are attractive and the costuming is glamorous! That's the good part of this movie!
Unfortunately it also ruins the movie! It seems every production company had their own idea of how this story should be presented. Thus everyone is too clean, settings too fancy, and the struggle and suffering of the founding members of the CCP is diminished. Post WW1 China may have been great for the wealthy but the workers, the everyday laborers, suffered - filth, sickness, hunger - and this fact is sorely missing in this movie.
Many times throughout the story the lack funding, to spread the word of the developing CCP, is mentioned. But everyone appeared well dessed and fed.
Plus the story line jumps around from China to Russia to France to wherever else. This made the story confusing at times and hard to follow. And when the movie ends you wonder why you watched it.
