The Founding of a Republic

The Founding of a Republic is a 2009 Chinese propaganda film commissioned by China's film regulator and made by the state-owned China Film Group (CFG) to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. The film was co-directed by Huang Jianxin and China Film Group chairman Han Sanping.

The Founding of a Republic
Film poster
Traditional	建國大業
Simplified	建国大业
Mandarin	Jiàngúo Dà Yè
Cantonese	Gin3 gwok3 Daai6 Jip6
Directed by	Huang Jianxin Han Sanping
Produced by	Huang Jianxin Han Sanping
Written by	Chen Baoguang Wang Xingdong
Starring	Tang Guoqiang Zhang Guoli Xu Qing Liu Jing Chen Kun Wang Wufu
Music by	Shu Nan
Cinematography	Zhao Xiaoshi
Edited by	Xu Hongyu
Production company	China Film Group Shanghai Film Studio Media Asia Films Emperor Motion Pictures Universe Entertainment Polybona Films China Movie Channel Beijing Guoli Changsheng Movies & TV Productions Beijing Hualu Baina Film & TV Production Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation DMG Entertainment Beijing Xinbaoyuan Movie & TV Investment
Distributed by	China Film Group Beijing Polybona Film Distribution (China) Universe Films Distribution (Hong Kong)
Release date	16 September 2009 (2009-09-16)
Running time	138 minutes
Country	China
Language	Mandarin
Budget	$8.8–$10 million
Box office	$62.5 million[1][2]

The film premiered at 2 pm, 16 September 2009, in mainland China. The film was produced with the backing of the Communist Party, but in response to some reactions outside Mainland China, Huang Jianxin, the film's co-director, "has said it was unfair to describe The Founding of a Republic as propaganda since modern Chinese audience was too sophisticated to swallow a simplistic rendering of history."[3] While the government of the Republic of China in Taiwan has asserted that it has no plans to actively censor the film, it has yet to be released because Taiwan's 2009 annual quota of 10 mainland films was already reached.[4]

The film retells the tale of the Communist ascendancy and triumph, and has a star-studded cast including Andy Lau, Ge You, Hu Jun, Leon Lai, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Zhao Wei, and directors Jiang Wen, Chen Kaige and John Woo, many of whom make brief cameo appearances. The leading roles are played by actors equally renowned in China, such as Tang Guoqiang and Zhang Guoli. A CFG spokesman said many stars answered Han Sanping's call to appear in the film and waived their fee. Thus, the movie kept to its modest budget of 60–70  million yuan (US$8.8–$10 million). According to the executive at one of China's top multiplex chains, the film unusually marries "the core of an 'ethically inspiring' film with commercial packaging."[5] This is the first zhuxuanlu (主旋律; i.e. propaganda) film to work solely with cinematic audio-visual methods to achieve its political and ideological goals. It is a milestone in that since its production in 2009, the distinction between zhuxuanlu and commercial film has become blurred; they have become largely indistinguishable from each other.[6]