Ji Jie Hao/ Assembly

Assembly(集結號) is a 2007 Chinese war drama film directed by Feng Xiaogang(馮小剛).
It is among the first Mainland-produce films to protray the Chinese Civil War in a realistic style. The movie is an adaptation of the novel "Guan Si"(官司)which is based on the real life account of a retired old soldier who engaged in upholding his company's honor.



The story begins in 1948 during the Huaihai Campaign of the Chinese Civil War (淮海戰役/國民黨稱為徐蚌會戰) with Gu Zidi (谷子地), a captain of the People's Liberation Army, fighting the KMT and winning the battle with severe casualties. After that, Gu's commanding officer, Colonel Liu (劉澤水團長), soon sent Gu and his 46 remaining men off on a new assignment; to defend to the last man with limited resources, and they couldn't retreat until he heard the bugle call for assembly with the regiment.

Just as the platoon fortifiled the position, the KMT army suddently attacked with various weapons and a large number of soldiers; the company fiercely fended off the army. Duty bound, Gu decided to stay which moves the remaining men to follow him and fight to the death. An undeternmined amount of time later, Gu was seen in an army hospital, the only apparent suvivor of the battle. Incredulously, he was treated as a prison of war for wearing a scavenged enemy uniform when he was found. No one can prove he was a soldier to fight against KMT.
Gu remained guilt-ridden over the next several year: he went on to fight in the Korean War and was wounded in the face during a sabotage mission bt a landmine to save another soldier Zhao Erdon(趙二斗).

With the help of Zhao Erdou, he found the old battlefield of Wen River (汶水).
Realizing he is now his company's only living witness, he camps out in a mining but near the old battlefield and started to dig at the huge coal pile daily with a pick and shovel, despite protests from the miners.A month into the ordeal, the old battalion's political offocer was found, and the men were finally honored through an offical notice.
Assembly has two part: the former one emphasizes the fierous battlefield while the later focused on the loneness of the heros. The director used the blood battlefield and sacrifice of the brave soldiers to emphasize the rediculous war. Soldiers held on their position but became unamed corpse in the end. What is the price of their sacrification?