Dongjiang Column's story hits screens

The Shenzhen-made film "Against All Odds" received wide appraise after it premiered last Wednesday, the day to commemorate 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931–45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.

The film recounts how the Dongjiang Column — an anti-Japanese guerrilla force led by the CPC — rescued an Allied pilot stranded behind enemy lines and highlights the deep friendship forged between Chinese and American forces during the global fight against fascism.

A poster of "Against All Odds." File photo

According to Wang Zhuoli, secretary-general of the Shenzhen Film Distribution and Exhibition Association, the film was screened at 198 cinemas, accounting for 9.8% of the total screenings, with 815 sessions scheduled. Prime-time screenings made up 17.1% of these, totaling 139 sessions.

Produced by the Shenzhen Film Studio and co-presented by the Publicity Department of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee, the film story was made on the true historical facts and is centered on the legendary rescue of a downed American pilot.

One audience surnamed Li had initially expected the film was about an aerial battle; he was touched by the film’s exploration of the value of life. Wang, a retired teacher, was impressed by the portrayal of the Hong Kong-Kowloon Independence Brigade soldiers risking their lives to rescue American pilots, noting that such acts of mutual aid are profoundly moving.

Shenzhen was one of the birthplaces of the Dongjiang Column. In 1938, Zeng Sheng and Wang Zuoyao raised anti-Japanese guerrilla units in Pingshan, which were later merged into the Dongjiang Column, whose headquarters were established in Tuyang Village, Dapeng. Across Shenzhen and neighboring areas, the column fought more than 1,400 battles against Japanese and puppet forces, inflicting over 6,000 enemy casualties and rescuing more than 800 patriotic intellectuals and democratic figures.

On Dec. 25, 1941, Hong Kong fell to the Japanese. During the ensuing three years and eight months of occupation, the Hong Kong-Kowloon Independence Brigade of the Dongjiang Column remained the only fully organized resistance force that fought continuously until victory.