Sometimes there are movies that are just plain fantastic. Take  The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. Despite its awkward name and dated acting, this movie has high drama and great moral theme.  This is a true story about a woman British missionary that does great good to the people she serves despite clear hardships.  The cast include Ingrid Bergman and Curt Jurgens, two top flight actors.  There are personal, national, and international conflicts shown in the clear measured style of mid 20th century film making.  This movie has haunted me since childhood.  It displayed the exoticness of far away lands and the struggles they faced far from my cocooned existence.

Historical drama, love story, one man against the system, killer music and vast scenery.  This true story is set in Inner Mongolia during the 30’s.  The world is slowly losing sense and going to total war.  But here in the vast and wide grasslands, the locals seek only peace and raising families with honor. Gada Meilin is the title character who was drawn into a local land war over regional loyalties and with international implications.  Too few movies of this quality and grasp of history made its way to the West prior to the advent of Amazon and Netflix.  This movie has some over acting, but not enough to take away from the sweep of the story and its relevenance.  There are those that do and die and those that nothing and still die.

This movie has won awards.  The Beijing Forbidden City Film Company produced it.  And the music was performed by Tang Ga-al, Mongolian superstar. Filmed on location.

The Sino-Japanese War 1931-1945 was long, hard, and not that well known in the West.  But the People’s Republic has made many a film on the subject.  There are three movies in particular that reflected the brave and creative way the Chinese fought against long odds.  Red Sorghum is a love story with a helping of Japanese soldiers on the side.  The locals take it to the Japanese in the sorghum fields.  The realism is strong.  And the price of success is dear.  Less well known are two Red Movies Studios movies best described as “Ways to Whack the Japanese”.  The Japanese are ruthless, stupid, and bad shots.  The Chinese are bold, brave, and better shots.  The movies speak for themselves…The Warfare of Landmine and Tunnel Warfare.  Both have historical basis, but with poetic license.  Watched together, you gain an appreciation on why the Chinese are as great as they proudly claim.