As a young Chinese woman swirls on her toes to the music of Swan Lake, the scene abruptly changes to that of a battlefield on which former Soviet troops are seen helping Chinese villagers fight Japanese invaders.

The setting is from Ballet in the Flames of War, a 35-million-yuan ($5.5 million) movie, which has been produced by a Chinese government-backed studio and involves Russian filmmakers. It is expected to hit Chinese mainland theaters on Friday.

Nearly 10 percent screening occupancy at cinemas will be arranged on that day.

In the manner of some Hollywood blockbusters, this war-themed movie has been given a stylized treatment to distinguish it from others that are being shown in China this year in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).

With Nikita Mikhalkov, Russia's answer to Steven Spielberg, as the movie's production supervisor, the romance epic has been injected with many Russian elements. For example, the popular Russian folk song Dark Eyes, national tree white birch and favorite food "big bread". Such aspects of the movie are likely to strike a cord with Chinese viewers given their closeness to Russians.

Beginning with the reminiscence of the female protagonist, the movie revolves around the romance between a Chinese ballet enthusiast and a Russian scout in Northeast China - much of the area that was occupied by Japanese forces from 1931-45.

"There have been numerous movies on the war, with most of them depicting political leaders and military victories," says the Chinese director Dong Yachun. "We wanted to make it about the common people's struggles during wartime."

The movie was listed among the most recommended titles at the 2015 Chinese Film Festival held in Moscow in May. It was also selected as the closing movie for the Shanghai International Film Festival a month later. It is among the top five movies on the war that the Chinese government has recommended this year, Dong, a veteran moviemaker, says.

The movie is inspired from history, and set in the backdrop of a fictional love story.

After Japan surrendered on Sept 2, 1945, some 300 Japanese soldiers and officers fled into the forests bordering China and Russia. Upon being discovered by two Chinese children, the Japanese troops slaughtered the residents of an entire village in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, and attacked a Soviet troop camped there, killing about 142 soldiers.

Chinese and Soviet armies killed the Japanese invaders 28 days after the surrender, making it the last recorded battle at the time.

The movie's male protagonist is a Soviet scout who sacrifices his life in the battle.

Beijing-based August First Film Studio is the main producer of this movie. The studio has produced 2,400 military movies in the past.

In an attempt to showcase the daily life back then, a 300-member crew stayed in freezing Hengdaohezi town in Heilongjiang province, for two months.

At-30 C, two streets, one railway tunnel and a baker's shop were built at the historical sites, introduced by Chang Mingguang, the movie's fine art designer.

"It likes destiny. A place that witnessed efforts by the two countries becomes the shooting location for a Sino-Russian production," says Dong.

The site is where China and Russia jointly built a railway line more than a century ago.

Cao Shuci, the lead actress and also a professional ballet dancer, tells China Daily that it is her big-screen debut.

"Young Chinese at my age may have limited knowledge about the war, and it's hard to image the miserable life Chinese experienced back then," she says, adding the moviemaking process gave her a better understanding.

"I pay more respect to history and the sacrifices of the Chinese people."

The 1989-born actress read wartime classics such as Australian writer Markus Zusak's The Book Thief to prepare for the role, Cao says.

xufan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 08/20/2015 page7)