Beyond the Skies (2021)

To be or not to be is the question that Beyond the Skies asks. The war film follows a young soldier named Hong Qichen, who trudges through the bloodstained ruins in his deadly mission to blow up the enemy's ammunition depot within 48 hours. He brings together wounded comrades-in-arms in the treacherous mountains for a life-and-death fight against the enemy. While questioning whether their sacrifices are worth it, his comrades-in-arms fall one after another in front of his eyes. It's getting harder and harder to complete the mission as time goes by. Some persist because of their faith; others stay true to their mission and determine to sacrifice. While embodying poetic Chinese cinema aesthetics, Beyond the Skies tells a heart-breaking story of a patriotic military mission in 1935 as these soldiers sacrificed their lives for the historical mission with their sense of calling at heart.