Gao shan xia de hua huan / Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain

Set during the Sino-Vietnamese War (February-March, 1979), this film explores class tensions and asserts the primacy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and state loyalty. The film follows a Red Army company within the Chinese People's Liberation Army from training to combat and the aftermath of the war. The primarily peasant makeup of the army unit represents the peasantry's generational sacrifice of sending its sons to war to defend the nation-state. The leadership of the unit, however, is composed of well-connected party officials. The tensions that ensue reflect broader issues of corruption among the CCP elite.