Beginning of the Great Revival (Jian Dang Wei Ye) is epic in scale, beginning with the overthrow of the monarchy in 1911, formation of the Chinese Community Party on July 1, 1921, and leaps forward to 1941 without any mention of Chiang Kaishek. As Western powers have capitalized on the weakness of the empire, carving up concessions on the Shantung Peninsula and culminating in Japan’s 21 Demands of 1915, nationalistic responses emerge. A republic replaces the empire without a clear vision, so the chaos of the country increases. China sends troops to fight Germany in World War I but is frozen out of the peace settlement by Japan. The success of the Bolshevik Revolution, however, provides a model that inspires Mao Zedong (played by Ye Liu) and others. Directed by Han Sanping and Huang Jianxing, the purpose of the film is to explain why communism appealed to Chinese and how Mao assumed leadership. However, so much of the film consists of subtitles that the appropriate audiences are today’s schoolchildren in China who will surely realize that the purpose is propaganda. MH