Ba Bai / The Eight Hundred (2020) - Historical drama with depth and grit - 9/10 (31/08/20)

While everbody seems to be going crazy over Christopher Nolan's new science-fiction epic Tenet, I must admit that I have prefered Chinese historical military drama The Eight Hundred a little bit more. The movie tells the story of a few hundred Chinese soldiers who desperately attempt to defend a warehouse against Japanese invaders. While national and international spectators idly observe the relentless battle from the other side of Suzhou Creek, the desperate soldiers realize that they are all alone on a suicide mission to defend their position, city and country.

This epic movie convinces on numerous levels. The story is overall historically accurate which isn't the case for some other recent Chinese movies that depict their own people as unbeatable heroes and their opponents as relentless criminals. The realistic characters in this movie feel refreshingly human and have flaws and strengths. Some soldiers try to betray their brothers in arms to save their lives, secretely escape from the warehouse or simply try to hide to avoid fighting. However, it's great to see that even the oldest cowards, youngest deserters and stupidest egoists end up facing their deadly challenges and fighting for a better tomorrow. The character development in this film is excellent and it's easy to empathize with several of the diversified characters, varying from disillusioned children over overambitious military personnel to nostalgic elders. The locations look incredibly authentic and bring Shanghai in the late thirties to life in a visually stunning way. The contrast between dead bodies, destroyed buildings and dirty battle equipment on the north side of the river and ladies with fancy make-up, elegant casinos and contemporary vehicles on the south side of the river is truly captivating. The big-budget sound and visual effects are gripping and should be enjoyed at your local cinema as even the best set-up in your living-room couldn't bring the dramatic battles to life. Despite a length of two and a half hours, the film has great pace and especially the first three quarters go by very quickly.

This movie would have been excellent if it weren't for its last quarter. The movie suddenly jumps back and forth in the timeline and focuses on redundant discussions and lengthy speeches that add patriotic pathos but considerably slow down the film's excellent pace. The final forty minutes or so could have been told in fifteen minutes and been much more impactful.

Despite that minor flaw in the film's final quarter, The Eight Hundred is one of the best military dramas in recent memory. The story is mostly historically accurate, the sound and visual effects are impressive, the characters have depth and development and the acting performances are accurate, diversified and empathic. It might even be a great idea to transform this intriguing story into a television series at a certain point. Don't hesitate to watch this movie with English subtitles at your local cinema as The Eight Hundred is definitely the best movie of the year so far.