Purely Pursuing Twists and Thrills Will Deviate from Principles — Review of the Film “Underground Sharp Soldiers”
Originally published in the 1959 first issue of “Chinese Film,” reprinted in “Chinese Film Review Collection Volume Two” Author: Jingzi
The film “Underground Sharp Soldiers” mainly depicts our Party’s dispatch in 1947 of the “Red Pine Group” led by Comrade Tao Gan to Beiping (Beijing) for underground work. To obtain a combat plan of a Kuomintang army, the “Red Pine Group” engaged in a sharp and tortuous struggle with Kuomintang spies led by Zou Zhifu and the deputy chief of staff of that army.
The film introduces the role of underground struggle in supporting the Liberation War and also promotes the arduousness of this work by our Party, which can be seen from the resolute attitude and heroic spirit of the comrades of the “Red Pine Group” in their fight against the enemy on the screen. In today’s era of everyone’s enthusiasm and the全面大跃进 (Great Leap Forward) in socialist construction, revisiting these arduous years has educational significance. At the same time, its story structure is tight, and many thrilling scenes are gripping, which may also be appreciated by the audience.
It should not be overlooked that: “Underground Sharp Soldiers” also has serious errors of detachment from politics and reality on another level, reflected in the film’s content—namely, the relationship between politics and art—politics is not in command. To pursue only twists and thrills, excessive reliance on偶然性 (accidents) replaces必然性 (necessity); focusing only on a compact structure without regard to whether the plot makes sense, thereby causing a negative influence: the political leadership of the Communist Party is not prominent or powerful in the film, and the “Red Pine Group” did not act according to the Party’s policies and principles. We can analyze this from three aspects: the main content, plot and structure, character shaping, and the general principles that underground work should follow.
1
To obtain intelligence, Comrade Tao Gan, the Party’s director, personally engaged in a direct struggle with the spy boss, using methods such as using US dollars and gold bars against the enemy and his aunt; also having Comrade Ai Yongbo fall in love with the daughter of the enemy’s deputy chief of staff to consolidate their position; at the end, they staged a nearly full-scale fight at the dance hall. Moreover, in pursuit of thrills and tightness, the film artificially introduced several accidents and exaggerated fictional elements that departed from principles. The most prominent examples are the two climax scenes: the first is when our radio was accurately broken by the enemy’s direction-finding instrument, and Tao Gan and Sun Ying barely escaped; the second is near the end, when after chaos at the dance hall, a gunfight ensued, and once again, Comrade Ai Yongbo sacrificed himself to save Tao Gan.
After some calm reflection, it is not difficult to see that the comrades led by Tao Gan in the “Red Pine Group,” in such a complex and harsh enemy-occupied environment, relied only on reckless daring to fight the cunning enemy. It is impossible to see what kind of correct policies our Party’s underground work should follow in such a historical context. Recall the domestic political situation in 1947: the Liberation War was at a turning point of counteroffensive, with a fundamental change in the overall class forces; the broad masses of all classes supported us, and internal divisions within the enemy had become severe. This was the result of our Party’s great political influence and the implementation of correct policies. In enemy-occupied areas, as long as we follow the Party’s instructions, rely on the masses, resolutely implement policies such as the united front, and utilize internal contradictions of the enemy, our underground work can be carried out and succeed with the help of most sympathizers. Historical facts confirm this objectively. But what does “Underground Sharp Soldiers” show us? Tao Gan mainly relies on some spy methods and means commonly used by enemies, such as money, pistols, beautiful women, and冒险 (adventure), emphasizing this aspect and neglecting that all our Party’s work is based on politics, practicality, and correct policies to win the support of the masses and then achieve victory. This is a serious distortion of our Party’s underground work. From Tao Gan’s actions on screen, our Party’s banner is extremely unclear! This could negatively influence many viewers who love our Party but are not familiar with underground work, making it seem as if revolutionary underground espionage is bourgeois, which is completely inconsistent with historical facts. ***
What are the results of Tao Gan’s approach? The story shows that the enemy is tenacious; it took us great effort—nine bulls and two tigers—to obtain intelligence in a very偶然性 (accidental) and危急 (dangerous) situation. The cost was: the “Red Pine Group” led by Tao Gan disintegrated, almost all members exposed to the enemy, one sacrificed, four captured, and even a traitor, Wang Shouzhong, counted among the “Red Pine Group.” Tao Gan and Sun Ying barely managed to create a reason—“the Municipal Committee asked us to go to Zhu Bo Station to prepare for liberating Beiping”—to withdraw. If it weren’t for these reasons, Tao Gan should have persisted and welcomed the army’s entry to coordinate city takeover work. Wouldn’t that be more meaningful for the Party and the people? Why choose such a failure as a typical example instead of transmitting many successful and inspiring stories through film as an art form?
The main reason “Underground Sharp Soldiers” lacks political leadership is that throughout the story, the Party’s leadership role is weak and powerless. A little attention reveals that only in two or three places is there a brief mention of the superior’s simple instructions to the “Red Pine Group” via radio, without analysis of enemy situation, policy explanations, or necessary measures to ensure the safety of underground organizations and cadres (these are reflected in Tao Gan’s words and actions). Our Party does not lead underground comrades in such a manner, especially under the guidance of the correct路线 (line) of our Party.
2
Now, let’s discuss character shaping. The positive character Tao Gan appears simple and rough, not following underground principles, and his handling of issues does not reflect Party policies. He leads a group of cadres recklessly, only seeking goals, using any means, sometimes overly reckless. If not from dialogue, it’s hard to tell what kind of person he is, and his differences from the negative characters are not obvious. He is a bad example, not a heroic image admired and inspiring the masses with high communist qualities and style. Here are two examples: Tao Gan’s handling of the traitor Wang Shouzhong’s contact is very careless, and afterward, he shifts responsibility to the radio operator Sun Ying, with an interesting dialogue:\n> Sun Ying: “My idea was to contact Wang Shouzhong, it’s all my fault.”\n> Tao Gan: “We all have mistakes.”\n\nThis fully shows Tao Gan’s irresponsible and simple style as a leader, which led to Comrade Zhao Yongqun’s arrest. After the incident, Tao Gan’s rude behavior—slamming the table—is no remedy for the damage caused; it only shows his incompetence. Tao Gan cannot command in combat, insists on personally handling everything, and many know him but hide themselves. His leadership of the “Red Pine Group” radio was broken by the enemy, with comrades sacrificing, some captured, and ultimately the organization disintegrated. Tao Gan and Sun Ying could not escape the fate of being caught or fleeing.
As underground workers of the Party, when handling issues or meeting with comrades, they must show the true image of Communist Party members in their思想风度 (thought demeanor) and appearance. But it is difficult to sense such qualities from Tao Gan.
The handling of the negative character Zou Zhifu is also unconvincing. Since Zou Zhifu is a spy boss, the film arranged a tense scene where Tao Gan and Zou Zhifu meet at游颐和园 (Yiheyuan), developing into a car chase, which is hard to understand. Later, Zou Zhifu openly leads thugs into the dance hall to prepare for arresting Tao Gan and others. Such arrangements are unreasonable. If the spy boss could truly listen to our “commands,” it would be wonderful, but unfortunately, it is far from reality. Enemies would not be so naive and laughable.
Finally, some basic principles that underground work should follow are also problematic. We do not demand every artist to have direct life experience in their field before creating art, but leaving reality too far behind will lead to deviation from principles. Tao Gan’s radio station had at least five people knowing its location (including children), Zhang Defa sitting at the door using a rickshaw horn as a signal, which is dangerously obvious; Sun Ying, as a radio operator, risking himself to get the radio, taking on communication responsibilities; internal lines like No. 15 (Ai Yongbo) being known by too many people and communicating among themselves, risking being exposed. These loopholes caused almost the entire “Red Pine Group” to be exposed. How can this be explained as complex clandestine struggle? The concept of underground work should be understood literally: it has特殊性质 (special nature), and strict requirements are necessary. A single careless mistake can cause disastrous consequences. The flaws in “Underground Sharp Soldiers” in this regard are significant.
, I’ll continue to modify it when I have time