A brilliant, blackly comic script and the subtle comic genius of star Zhu Xu mark this as one of the best tragi-comedies of post-liberation Chinese cinema.

In 1946’s autumn, troupe medic Lu Lan escorts a shy young soldier to a village en route to the frontline assault on a county town. Initially cold, Lu Lan warms to his honest simplicity and shared hometown roots, as they cajole a beautifully embroidered quilt from his new bride to kit out their field aid station.

Chinese submarine 980 is ordered to be alert for unauthorized foreign observers of a Chinese missile launch.