A heartwarming anti-pandemic film to wrap up 2021

China.org.cn

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A heartwarming anti-pandemic film will hit Chinese cinemas on the last day of 2021 to deliver a message of love and comfort to audiences who may still be suffering from the hardship brought by COVID-19.

Embrace Again, directed by Xue Xiaolu and starring Huang Bo, Jia Ling, Xu Fan, and Zhu Yilong, utilizes a multi-character narrative to follow a group of ordinary people who turned heroes in Wuhan. Its plot was originally inspired by the true story of Wang Yong, a delivery man who organized a volunteer team to provide commutes for medical workers during Wuhan's lockdown.

Using materials and true stories about heroic people collected by China Film Co., Ltd. as early as February 2020, the script was expanded to portray connections between individuals and families, forming a picture that reflects the Wuhan people's optimistic and positive spirit, while toning down or consciously avoiding overly tragic scenes like death and emergency treatment in order to deliver hope and warmth rather than sadness.

Xue, a female director, particularly focused on and shaped the vivid female characters of the film. It was important for me to shine a light on women's beauty and kindness, their emotion, and their independence, she said at the premiere held in Beijing on Monday. The script is entirely spoken in Wuhan local dialect to better reenact real life in Wuhan While Jia Ling and Zhu Yilong speak the dialect as they are Wuhan natives, Huang Bo and other non-native actors tried hard to learn and practice the dialect.

Everything we do is to truly demonstrate how ordinary people endured the pandemic and to capture the details of their real life. We hope more people can find the collective power of warmth when we are united, Xue added.

Huang, whose character is based on the entrepreneurial food delivery driver Wang Yong, said Wang was a typical case of individuals who overcame the pandemic. In fact, he represents the true heart of many people. Everyone has fear during such occasions. Even so, he still chose to assume the responsibility that he thought should be his own. This is the shining point in our whole anti-pandemic campaign. He is so ordinary, yet also so extraordinary.

Fu Ruoqing, general manager of China Film Co., Ltd. and the film's producer, revealed that this film is the 100th film to use the CINITY format – a leading premium Chinese projection system that provides an improved movie experience. The CINITY Cinema System is a 4K projection system featuring a high frame rate, wide gamut, immersive sound, and other technologies. It was developed by Huaxia Film Distribution Co., Ltd. and made its debut in director Ang Lee's film Gemini Man back in 2019.

China is witnessing another resurgence of the COVID-19, with Xi'an city in Shaanxi province recently being closed off and undergoing citywide mass tests, somewhat reminiscent of Wuhan in early 2020, and this movie may give viewers courage and hope that they need.

A poster for Embrace Again. [Image courtesy of China Film Co., Ltd.]

The film currently leads the year-end film season, already selling more than 100 million yuan worth of presale tickets at the box office by Thursday before its nationwide release on Dec. 31.