My People, My Country

My People, My Country
My People, My Country
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	我和我的祖國
Simplified Chinese	我和我的祖国
Literal meaning	me and my motherland
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	wǒ hé wǒ de zǔguó
Directed by	Chen Kaige; Zhang Yibai; Guan Hu; Xue Xiaolu; Xu Zheng; Ning Hao; Wen Muye
Produced by	Huang Jianxin
Starring	Huang Bo; Geng Le; Oho Ou; Zhang Yi; Ren Suxi; Wu Jing; Ma Yili; Du Jiang; Zhu Yilong; Wang Daotie; Ge You; Gong Beibi; Liu Haoran; Arthur Chen; Tian Zhuangzhuang; Song Jia
Production; companies	Huaxia Film Distribution; Polybona Films; Alibaba Pictures
Distributed by	Huaxia Film Distribution
Release date	30 September 2019 (China);
Running time	158 minutes
Country	China
Language	Mandarin Chinese
Box office	$474.5 million

My People, My Country (Chinese: 我和我的祖国) is a 2019 Chinese anthology drama film, consisting of seven segments directed by seven directors, Chen Kaige, Zhang Yibai, Guan Hu, Xue Xiaolu, Xu Zheng, Ning Hao, and Wen Muye.^[3] It stars many of China's top actors, many in supporting roles and cameos. My People, My Country is produced jointly by Huaxia Film Distribution, Polybona Films and Alibaba Pictures. The film was released in China on September 30, 2019, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China.^[4] It has two sequels, My People, My Homeland (2020) and My Country, My Parents (2021).

Plot

The Eve

The opening segment by director Guan Hu, "The Eve" (前夜), is about an engineer, Lin Zhiyuan (played by Huang Bo), racing against time to perfect an automatic flag-raising mechanism before the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China. Due to a faulty part, they scrounge the neighborhood for resources to build another one. They get many enthusiastic donations, and successfully install the mechanism at dawn.

Passing By

The second story "Passing By" (相遇), directed by Zhang Yibai, sees Gao Yuan (played by Zhang Yi), a scientist working on China's first atom bomb, who had to disappear from his lover in the 1960s. After receiving furlough due to a workplace radiation accident, he encounters her on a bus. She pleads for him to talk to her and reminisces before the bus is stopped by a parade celebrating the successful atomic test. Yuan dies some time later.

The Champion

The third story "The Champion" (夺冠), directed by Xu Zheng, is about how a young boy from Shanghai named Dong Dong (played by Han Haolin) helped his neighbors watch TV for the China women's national volleyball team's Olympic gold medal win in 1984 at the cost of not being able to bid farewell to his crush.

Going Home

The fourth story "Going Home" (回归), directed by Xue Xiaolu, is about a Chinese executive delegation and local policemen preparing for the return of Hong Kong from British rule to China in 1997. The 12-second silence between the British and Chinese anthems during the Hong Kong handover ceremony is also reflected in this part.

Hello Beijing

The fifth story "Hello Beijing" (北京你好), directed by Ning Hao, is about a taxi driver who gives a ticket to the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics to a boy from the Sichuan earthquake zone, who attempted to steal it, though it was intended to be a birthday gift for his son.

The Guiding Star

The sixth story "The Guiding Star" (白昼流星), directed by Chen Kaige, is about a pair of homeless brothers who witness the landing of the capsule of the Shenzhou 11 crewed spacecraft on November 18, 2016, a moment of national pride that touched them.

One for All

"One for All" (护航), directed by Wen Muye, follows the story of a top female fighter jet pilot Lü Xiaoran who helps her fellow pilots accomplish a smooth aerial performance at the Military Parade of the 70th Anniversary of the Victory in the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1945.^[5]

Cast

The Eve (directed by Guan Hu)

Huang Bo as Lin Zhiyuan
Oho Ou
Wang Qianyuan
Liang Jing
Jiang Wu
Hu Jun
Tong Dawei
Vision Wei
Xin Baiqing
Geng Le
Wang Tianchen

Passing by (directed by Zhang Yibai)

Zhang Yi as Gao Yuan
Ren Suxi as Fang Min
Zhang Jiayi as Group Leader
Zhou Dongyu as Nurse
Peng Yuchang
Luo Haiqiong
Guo Cheng
Zhou Yiran

The Champion (directed by Xu Zheng)

Wu Jing as Xu Dongdong (adult)
Ma Yili as Zhao Qimei (adult)
Han Haolin as Xu Dongdong (child)
Fan Yujie as Zhao Qimei (child)
Liu Tao as Mei's mother
Xu Zheng as television anchor
Wang Zhifei
Shao Wen
Zhang Zhihua
Duan Bowen as Table Tennis Coach

Going Home (directed by Xue Xiaolu)

Du Jiang as Zhu Tao
Zhu Yilong as Song Yueqiang
Wang Daotie as Wang Yinghui
Wang Luoyong as An Wenbin
Kara Wai as Lin
Simon Yam as Wah
Gao Yalin as Cheng Zhiqiang
Gregory Charles Rivers as Hugh Davies
Natasha Dratinskaia Christiansen as Maureen Earls
Kwok Keung Cheung

Hello Beijing (directed by Ning Hao)

Ge You as Zhang Beijing
Cheng Yusen as Zhang Xiaojing
Gong Beibi as Yuan Rong
Wang Dong as Boy from Wenchuan
Ma Shuliang as Taxi Company Leader

The Guiding Star (directed by Chen Kaige)

One for All (directed by Wen Muye)

Music

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"My People, My Country (我和我的祖国)" (Opening theme)	Zhang Li	Qin Yongcheng	Faye Wong

Release

On March 20, 2019, the producers announced that the film was slated for release on October 1, 2019, during the National Day.^[6] On September 6, 2019, it was announced that the film has been advanced to September 30, 2019.^[7]

My People, My Country was distributed by China Media Capital, a major international distributor of Chinese film and television, in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.^[4]

Reception

Box office

With a total gross of over $474 million, My People, My Country currently sits as the 15th highest-grossing non-English film of all time. The film grossed about 369 million yuan (51.62 million U.S. dollars) on its second day of screening.^[8] It grossed one billion yuan in three days.^[9] The film earned more than 2 billion yuan on its opening weekend.^[10]^[11]^[12]