In China, Japanese occupation thrillers are ten a penny. This one feels like they were going for something - it plays like a whodunnit, with a bit of style, drive, and a surprising amount of torture violence for a mainland film. A bunch of stars (famous in China, but not to me, I’m afraid to say) are placed in a castle by the collaboration government’s counterinsurgency department, one of them is the mole, and all must be subjected to various depraved interrogation techniques until they are found. It keeps the brain working. I doubt non-Chinese will be moved very much by its final appeal to both the heartstrings and patriotic feeling. There’s not enough context for us.

In China, Japanese occupation thrillers are ten a penny. This one feels like they were going for something - it plays like a whodunnit, with a bit of style, drive, and a surprising amount of torture violence for a mainland film. A bunch of stars (famous in China, but not to me, I’m afraid to say) are placed in a castle by the collaboration government’s counterinsurgency department, one of them is the mole, and all must be subjected to various depraved interrogation techniques until they are found. It keeps the brain working. I doubt non-Chinese will be moved very much by its final appeal to both the heartstrings and patriotic feeling. There’s not enough context for us.