China Cry: A True Story

Predictably, you will see two different types of ratings. The movie gets generally high marks from believers, despite the valid criticisms from those who are not quite as enthusiastic. Why is that? One reason is the history of Christian film making is different from that of other types of studios. We in the church are used to seeing movies with actors and extras who are (probably unpaid) church members or Bible college students. We do not expect to be knocked out of our seats by a great star or astounding special effects. Not only that, but the thrust is different. Movies are made primarily to get a message out, not to make money. Believers are more interested in the purity of the message than its package.

The purity of the message of "China Cry" makes it a great movie and well worth the time of anyone.

This movie made me question my own sincerity of faith.

One can only pray that the Lord will provide special graces to anyone who ever faces that level of persecution. In, and of myself, I would never be able to withstand such mistreatment.

I look at how coddled and spoiled I am socially as a professing Christian in the USA, and have to really wonder how much I would truly be able to withstand under such harsh situations.

I have heard Nora Lam's testimony, and I can hardly imagine what it would be like to have to stand firm under any "real" persecution.

Just to think that such things even still go on today around the world, is a painful reality.

China cry is a movie of course based on the life of a Christian Chinese women (Neng yee, aka Nora Lam) whom is suffering at the hands of the Chinese government. After seeing China cry I was compelled to read the book. To tell you the truth they cut out so much information in the original story, that when they made this movie they lost important parts of Neng yee's life that should have been shared. That is a tad disappointing. Now I realize that in order for China cry to have fit in a proper running time it had to be chopped. But the movie would have been much more enjoyable if they would have mentioned a little more of her childhood and her life after going to Hong Kong (she moved to America and went on crusading throughout America and China -among other things-).

I saw this movie on TBN, when they were playing it in honor of Nora Lam, of whom this movie is about. I totally agree with the message of this movie, because it gives hope to Christians who feel pressured by society, and it also shows Christians in America, that they should be thankful for the religious freedoms our government allows.

I wanted this movie to work, but ultimately it doesn't.

Good things about the movie: Abuse-of-power shown via a martial arts sparing match between a communist party heavy and a "citizen." Some of the acting is very good, including the leading lady. Depiction of "underground church" and characters good. Individual scenes typically well-scripted, but...well, I'll address the problem in the next paragraph. The basic premise; that one's affinity to the divine is a delicate thing that can't be explained nor explained away; does come across in the end.

Bad things: Generally, poor narrative, script, and scene organization. Lack of funds to do some of the scenes right (e.g., Japanese "invasion" by one soldier in an empty street pummeling a gate with his rifle butt). General clumsiness in use of voiceover. Motivation for last scene (leading lady walking across a desert expanse to meet her husband) not set up properly; confusing. Some of the character development in the area of abuses by party heavies is hyperbolic, and generally not believable. In general, movies that rely upon the depiction of a litany of atrocities committed by the-powers-that-be tend to be weak. I'm not saying that consciousness raising about these things is bad, it's just a question of the delicate balance you have to maintain in cinema when trying to communicate this. The "litany approach" doesn't cut it.

I conclude by citing this as yet-another example of the ascendency of true artistry over even divinely-inspired good intentions. I'm sorry to see that this continues to haunt "Christian" movies to this day (I'm writing in 2002). Some day these people will quit bellyaching about the Satanic plot that funnels all the money to secular themes and just come up with a compelling story, and get enough money and no-bullstuff talent to finally do the job right. Clue: Review Fellini's early narrative movies; relatively low budget, themes scaled to the human dimension, divine implications.