Nationalistic war film smashes Chinese box office records

A nationalistic blockbuster set during the Korean War has racked up hundreds of millions of dollars in ticket sales and become the highest-grossing film ever in China, according to box office data. ‘The Battle at Changjin Lake’, a chest-thumping war epic, is the latest entry in a new era of Chinese action films with explicitly patriotic themes that reflect rising levels of domestic nationalism. Criticism of the film’s message -- which depicts the titular battle as a total victory for Chinese forces -- has been met with a heavy-handed response from the authorities, including the arrest of a high-profile former journalist.