Actors practice how to use an anti-aircraft gun before the shooting of The Sacrifice. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Among mixed reviews online, most criticism was directed at the film's three-perspective narrative. With a comparison to Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, which is told from the perspectives of troops on land, in air and sea, most Chinese netizens say The Sacrifice "repeats scenes in a cumbersome way".

But actor Zhang Yi, who portrays an anti-aircraft gunner, has become the top highlight for his performance, vividly displaying the character's transformation from a somewhat cowardly, hesitant figure to a fearless hero.

Most insiders and industry watchers believe the Chinese film－despite some shortcomings－shows that the industrialization of Chinese films is being accelerated, helping the domestic industry to mature.

Sha Dan, a researcher at the China Film Archive, says the commercial success of The Sacrifice shows that such films－a traditional genre retelling of New China's revolutionary past-"have notched up a breakthrough".

"The film adopts a modern cinema narrative technique, assembling some of the country's best filmmakers within a short time. With the production procedure (repairing the prop bridge several times during the typhoon) reminiscent of the real war story, it strikes a chord with audiences, especially the youngsters," Sha explains.

Based on the film's popularity, Sha predicts that such "national-level movies"－referring to its scale and the support from China's movie authorities－might rise as a pivotal genre of Chinese cinema in the next few years, following previous hits such as the My People franchise and the Founding trilogy to consecutively ride the momentum.

Further similar projects are underway. Bona Film Group, one of the country's largest privately owned studios excelling in producing revolutionary films, recently announced that it would relaunch shooting for Changjin Hu (Chosin Reservoir), which was scheduled to begin filming in early February in Dandong but had to be postponed due to the pandemic.