dir: Feng Xiaogang
scr: Yan Geling, based on her novel
A sweeping yet personal portrait of a cultural arts troupe in late-70s China. Spellbinding recreations of red ballets and operas break up the intimate romances among youth and full-scale carnage of the battlefield. A dazzling tribute to the talents who make propaganda, fully aware of the injustices and new hierarchy kick-started by the Cultural Revolution while acknowledging how people found a purpose and a family within that milieu.
Docs, arthouse catch-ups, plus Molly's Game and The Post, after the jump.