八佰 (aka The Eight Hundred) (2020)

Set in 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army invades Shanghai. It's left to 452 Chinese soldiers to fight the 20,000 Japanese troops and defend Shanghai against the Japanese takeover. They are cornered in an old warehouse while across the river the International Settlement remains untouched. Directed by Guan Hu, the film wisely states that it is based on actual events rather than based on a true story. The dramatic license it takes aside, this is a genuine epic. Unlike so many long films that are often self indulgent, the running time here is justified. There's not a minute of unnecessary plotting. While the movie may come across at times like a Chinese Alamo, Hu doesn't glamorize war. He pushes the ugliness and blood right in our face yet you can't help but get tears in your eyes at the bravery of its soldiers. There are moments of horror as when the people in the international section watch the slaughter across the river as if they were watching a play but moments of beauty too like the white stallion running through the streets of Shanghai or the contrast between the dingy warehouse and the neon beauty (like Disneyland at night) of the international settlement across the river. Filmed entirely with IMAX cameras, the cinematography of Cao Yu is awesome. The film's one drawback is that it doesn't expend the time to flesh out its many characters so what we're left with are unfinished sketches that tend to go toward cliche. That aside, I highly recommend it. With Huang Zhizhong, Zhang Junyi, Du Chun, Tang Yixin and Liu Xiaoqing.