The Big Parade (simplified Chinese: 大阅兵; traditional Chinese: 大閱兵; pinyin: Dà Yuèbīng) is a 1986 Chinese film directed by Chen Kaige. The story of a tough drill sergeant and his raw recruits, The Big Parade stars Wang Xueqi, Sun Chun, and was photographed by Zhang Yimou.
Today, the film stands somewhat in the shadows to Chen Kaige's better-known works, including his directorial debut Yellow Earth, or the Palme d'Or winning Farewell, My Concubine.
The Big Parade is often seen as an exploration of the relationship of collectivism versus individualism. At the time, however, some western critics, including the New York Times, took the film at face value, seeing it as propagandist and describing it as a "boot camp" film. The New York Times, in particular, derided the film as a "Recruiting Poster for Collective Action." If critics felt that this was merely China's newest propaganda film, this was due in part to the heavy hand of the Chinese Film Bureau. Originally, Chen had not shot an actual parade to conclude his film, only obscure silhouettes of soldiers against a sunset, an artistic decision that shocked "both army and censors." Even forcing the director to insert more traditional
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