China has been one of the primary driving forces in the world for almost two millennia. The incarnations known to recent generations are the People's Republic of China (the mainland) and the Republic of China (Taiwan). But these only emerged after two thousand years of monarchical rule. Jackie Chan's "Xinhài Gémìng" ("1911" in English) looks at the revolution that brought down the Qing dynasty. This topic briefly got touched on in "The Last Emperor", but here we get the full story of how Sun Yat-sen sought funds from the Chinese diaspora to counter the Western powers' support of the corrupt, dysfunctional royal family. Over the course of a year, the revolutionary movement waged repeated battles against the monarchy, eventually forcing Puyi's abdication in 1912.
Chan plays Huang Xing, a Sun's second-in-command, with Winston Chao playing Sun. I should say that the movie's pace in some scenes is awkward, with words identifying the characters while they talk (making it hard to read the subtitles). But that's only a minor problem. The battle scenes, and the look at the 72 Martyrs make clear that the road from the Qing dynasty to republican China was no easy one. It's not a great movie, but I recommend it. A similar movie that I recommend is "The Soong Sisters".
Also starring Jaycee Chan, Li Bingbing, Joan Chen and Hu Ge.
Chan plays Huang Xing, a Sun's second-in-command, with Winston Chao playing Sun. I should say that the movie's pace in some scenes is awkward, with words identifying the characters while they talk (making it hard to read the subtitles). But that's only a minor problem. The battle scenes, and the look at the 72 Martyrs make clear that the road from the Qing dynasty to republican China was no easy one. It's not a great movie, but I recommend it. A similar movie that I recommend is "The Soong Sisters".
Also starring Jaycee Chan, Li Bingbing, Joan Chen and Hu Ge.