The Courage of The Stars (film)

The Courage of The Stars  (: 星星的勇气) is a 2020 Kodeshi   directed by and co-written by Qiu Guangyao, and starring Teng Jie, Dai Wuying, Wang Yuanjie, Guo Guozhen, Jiang Liang, Su Jin, Wei Zhihao, Zhi Chen, Yuan Tai, Li Xiaolong, and Zheng Pingru. The film is about the 1950 Siege of Songhari during the War of Resistance against Selengerian Aggression.

Plot
The film is set in 1950 in Kodeshia, in the province of Zhongbin, during the height of the Great Kesh War where the Selengerian forcers were is fighting with the Kodeshia of Guo Guotai. The plot shows some of the background of the siege and the story of the siege itself. The siege begins when the Selengerian Army launching a surprise attack on the capital of Kodeshia, Songhari with the intention of capturing it. The siege culminates in a bloody battle in which most of the Selengerian forces die. During the early 1950s Selengerian forces were on the offensive, defeating Kodeshi forces in the Battle of Yushi River and the Battle of Malipo. The Selengerian Army led by Khiyat Suudriin defeated Kodeshi forces led by the General Lao Tang. Forcing them to fallback to the stronghold of the capital Songhari.

From his base at Songhari, the Kodeshi commander, General Lao Tang ordered his troops dig in at the capital and strategic port of Songhari, which would not only give the Kodeshi a supply line to the outside world, but also cut off the Selengeria's advance towards vital port of Chenghai and the entire coastline of Kodeshia. However, on March 21 1950, Selengeria surprised Songhari by attacking the city with massive numbers of troops, armour, artillery and airpower. Selengerian forces sieged the city and massacring many of its residents and causing widespread destruction to many historical sites. The brutal and bloody siege would be a failure and mark the end of Selengeria's rapid advance into the country and would be pushed back from the capital and over the next nine years slowly face mounting resistance before the end of the conflict.

Cast

 * Teng Jie as General Lao Tang, commanding the Kodeshi forces.
 * Dai Wuying as Lieutenant Colonel Wu Xiong, company commander.
 * Wang Yuanjie as Xiao Haoming, soldier.
 * Guo Guozhen as Lei Weiyu, soldier.
 * Jiang Liang as Zhang Hulu, soldier.
 * Su Jin as Lao Hulu, soldier.
 * Wei Zhihao as Yang Yixin, soldier.
 * Zhi Chen as Liang Baiqing, soldier.
 * Yuan Tai as Hou Cheng, soldier.
 * Li Xiaolong as Xu Jiang, soldier.
 * Zheng Pingru as Yu Qiyue, soldier.

Production
The screenplay was based on a true story about a young army general of the Kodeshi Army named Deng Feng, who personally led an attack against the Selengerian Army in order to relieve the garrison at the city of Songhari. The general died leading his troops. The production started filming in March 2019. This is the first film in recent history to use special war footage shot during the Siege of Songhari to recreate the siege. The film is set in the 1950s. Qiu Guangyao had been preparing for the film for 10 years. The production team had built a real set of 50 buildings for the exterior shots and worked closely with the Imperial Armed Forces of Kodeshia in conducting accurate battle shots. Further scenes featuring the historically significant landmarks were shot in Songhari.

Theatrical
The film premiered at the Songhari International Film Festival on March 21, 2020 on the 70th anniversary of the Siege of Songhari. The film won the "People's Choice" prize at the festival. The Courage of The Stars has had its overseas premiere at the International Film Festival, on April 17, 2020. The Courage of The Stars is being distributed by IFC International and Purple Bamboo Pictures in the U.S. and Canada. The Courage of The Stars has also been released on online streaming services internationally.

Songhari International Film Festival
The film was premiered at the Songhari International Film Festival on March 21, 2020 on the 70th anniversary of the Siege of Songhari. It opened to prestigious slot with much fanfare and government support with the Emperor reportedly watching and personally approving of the film. The film won the "People's Choice" prize at the festival.

Box Office
It opened to number one on its first weekend before earning a gross domestic total of Hz4.903 trillion. It dropped to number 2 in its second weekend, earning Hz1.542 trillion. and dropped further to number 8 in its third weekend, earning Hz1.097 trillion. In its fourth weekend, it dropped to number 11 and earned Hz840.826 trillion. After six weeks, it dropped to number 23 and earned a total of Hz88.711 trillion. In its seventh weekend, it jumped to number 11 and grossed Hz5.077 trillion. In its eighth weekend, it jumped to number 10 and grossed Hz2.542 trillion. It then dropped to number 13 and grossed Hz868.829 trillion. After two weeks, it dropped to number 19 and earned a total of Hz6.761 trillion.

Critical Response
The film has received critical acclaim. Qiu Guangyao was praised for his direction, the story and the costumes of the film. In addition, the costume design by Wu Hao was also highly praised. It received positive reviews on its release. Filmkrant calls it a "breathtaking adventure film" with "solidly constructed stories" and "a stunning visual feast". According to them, while the historical accuracy is "slightly lacking", "the film has an undeniable authenticity and a very appealing sense of patriotism and heroism". The film got a 91% rating on MovieCritic, with the general consensus being "The cinematography and battle scenes are excellent. And the atmosphere of the film, the characters are wonderful, with many very moving scenes and events in the film." although some of the more negative reviewers questioned the historical accuracy saying "If you look at it on screen, it's definitely a lot of action scenes and a lot of the war. If you look closely, though, this is not a historical film. The story of this movie just goes too far, and it's too unrealistic to compare this to history. This is an action movie, and the story is completely different from the true history." The Grienstien Herald's film review gave it a four star rating. They state that the "story moves swiftly, as it is meant to be told at a gallop". The review also commended the "unsparing portrayal of a young and brave nation coming of age and fighting for its survival". However, the reviewer did not like the ending.

Controversy
The Kodeshi Imperial Culture Research Association (KICRA), a non-governmental group, held an academic conference on filmmaking where attendees voiced opinions on the film. Attendees did not agree with the portrayal of the Guoist Army, complaining that the film excessively glorified the Guoist army and did not mention the ways in which the Emperor and Imperial forces sought to aid Guoist forces during the siege. One day before the film's release, a petition by KICRA containing the name of over 30,000 viewers of the film's first trailer was circulated online, asking the Film Bureau to cancel its screening at all movie theatres. It was unsuccessful and the film has largely been embraced by Imperial government of Kodeshia.

Awards
The film garnered a total of 7 nominations for the 43rd Golden Dragon Awards, including Best Director (Qiu Guangyao) and Best Picture. However, the film ultimately won none of the awards. At the 7th Imperial Kodeshi Film Media Awards, the film won Best Leading Actor (Dai Wuying), Best Supporting Actor (Zhi Chen) and Best Supporting Actress (Jiang Liang). The film won the following awards:


 * Songhari International Film Festival (2020)
 * People's Choice (2020)


 * Imperial Kodeshi Film Media Awards (2020)
 * Best Leading Actor (Dai Wuying)
 * Best Supporting Actor (Zhi Chen)
 * Best Supporting Actress (Jiang Liang)