The Opium War

The film tells the Opium War fought between China and Britain in the 1830s. On the Chinese side are the last years of the Qing dynasty, on the other the British Empire. The account runs through two figures: the Chinese official Lin Zexu and the British naval diplomat Charles Elliot. At the end of the war Hong Kong passes into British hands. The film tells events largely from the Chinese side; that view is the work’s own choice. The opium trade becoming a matter of state policy is the real subject. Scenes on a large scale and decisions inside the palace are used together. Bao Guo-an and Liankun Lin appear in Xie Jin’s hundred and fifty three minute film, a joint Spanish, British and Chinese production, completed in 1997.