Backed by the Ministry of State Security, Directed by Zhang Yimou
Earns 500 Million Yuan in Just Three Days After Release
Among the films released in theaters during the Chinese Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) holiday, a movie backed by the Ministry of State Security has become a box-office hit and is drawing attention. The film, which centers on rooting out spies, is being assessed as having put national security at the forefront and directly conveying the government's message.
According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) and other outlets on the 19th (local time), director Zhang Yimou's film "Chingjeouseong" (驚蟄無聲), which opened on the first day of the Spring Festival, the 17th, grossed 483 million yuan (about 101.2 billion won) in its first three days, ranking second at the box office.
The film is the first ever among movies released in China to take contemporary national security as its central theme. It is also the first film to be directly vetted by the Ministry of State Security, the Chinese counterpart to South Korea's National Intelligence Service. The story follows intelligence agents who, after discovering that core classified information on China's latest fighter jet has been leaked, track down an insider. It is based on an incident that occurred in 2016. Observers interpret it as going beyond a simple spy thriller to focus on reinforcing the current system, with the intention of stirring patriotism and a sense of crisis.
Renowned Chinese auteur Zhang Yimou, who gained global fame with the film "Red Sorghum," directed the movie. Top-tier actors, including popular idol-turned-actor Jackson Yee, as well as Zhu Yilong and Song Jia, all star in the film.
China's state-run media are heavily promoting it as the country's first film to fully foreground modern national security. China Central Television (CCTV), the state broadcaster, reported that "the box-office success of 'Chingjeouseong' is regarded as a case showing that message-driven films led by the authorities can also achieve commercial success." The state-run Xinhua News Agency described it as "a film that, unlike conventional spy thrillers, focuses on the 'invisible front line' of modern society," adding that "this is an issue that is closely connected to all of us."
On the 18th, China's Ministry of National Defense, commenting on the film via social networking services (SNS), called it "a timely warning rooted in reality" and stressed the need for nationwide security education. It went on to say that "threats such as cyber espionage, technological infiltration, and the theft of biometric data are becoming increasingly widespread," and emphasized that "strengthening the defense of data security is not just a technical challenge, but has become a fundamental safeguard for the survival and development of the country's future."
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