【推荐1】The war epic The Battle at Lake Changjin, one of the most expensive films ever made in China, shot to the top of the weeklong National Day holiday box office, promoting the domestic film market to rebound (反弹) after being inactive for more than two months.

With three outstanding directors—Chen Kaige, Hark Tsui and Dante Lam—the 176-minute-long film follows Chinese People’s Volunteers (CPV) who joined the battle, which turned the tide of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953).

With the number of cast and crew reaching an unprecedented scale of more than 12,000, the movie recreates the cruel conflict on the Korean Peninsula (朝鲜半岛) amid the extremely cold winter of 1950, when temperatures lowered to the level in 50 years. The movie’s production involved more than 80 visual-effects companies domestically and abroad, with the script being revised 37 times. Breaking over 10 records, the movie has raked in around 2 billion yuan ($ 310 million) since its opening on Sept 30. It accounted for around 75 percent of total holiday income, which had reached 2.67 billion yuan as of Monday, according to the movie information tracker Beacon. The film has also collected millions of reviews and click son several of the country’s most popular social media platforms, including Weibo and Douyin, with most commenters praising the moving tale and saying it stimulates their national pride, making them want to show their respect for the CPV heroes who sacrificed their lives. Some netizens said the film reminds them, amid the current China-US tension, to cherish today’s peaceful life.

Most analysts said the movies’ commercial success has lived up to the industry’s estimation, giving cinema operators a sign of revival. “With a lot of details to recreate historical reality, The Battle at Lake Changjin has raised the bar for Chinese war films to a new high level, signaling the progress that the domestic industry has achieved,” said Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association.

But compared with the same period in previous years, the shortage of appealing, medium-budget films has reduced the variety of genres (体裁), which will not be good for the long-term development of the Chinese film industry, Rao added.

【推荐2】We’ve dug deep to find four of the most exciting movies coming to a screen near you in 2022.

The Sanctity of Space

The Sanctity of Space is a visual feast for the eyes that promises to take us into the heart of the snow-topped mountains of Alaska.

Inspired by a legendary 20^th century mountain photographer named Brad Washbur, directors Renan Ozturk and Freddie Wilkinson come up with a plan to make a sideways hike through a steep mountain range in his honor.

Last Exit: Space

Is there anything more fascinating than a night sky chock-a-block with stars, planets and everything in between?

In Last Exit: Space, Werner Herzog explores the human potential for taking up space and sending people where they’ve never been before. Directed by his son Rudolph, Last Exit: Space will be available from March 10 on Discovery+.

We Met in Virtual Reality

This film from director Joe Hunting is filmed entirely in Virtual Reality.

Less about the technology itself, it is more an exploration of human connections and how these can develop in the met averse. Early reviews have been positive and following it’s showing at Sundance. It is available on March 15.

Ailey

Though this elegant documentary shows us the life of the famous US dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey, it will no doubt attract people interested in music and dance.

Ailey lived a poor childhood in the countryside in Texas where he was raised by a single mother. He founded one of the most important modern dance companies, honoring Black culture through movement.

【推荐3】Memories are funny, aren’t they? You can be going along, minding your business, and then, all of a sudden, a memory pops into your head. Sometimes memories are triggered (触发) by a song that reminds you of the setting where you first heard it. Or it may be a smell that makes you think of a delicious meal with your friends or family. Perhaps hearing kids arguing makes you remember an unhappy situation with childhood friends. These spontaneous (自发的) memories can be “sweet,” or they might be “sour.” Did you ever wonder what’s going on in your brain that makes your memories produce positive or negative emotions?

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biologica Studies in California have made a discovery that could help to uncover this secret. The explanation is a bit technical (for those of us who are not brain scientists), but basically it all focuses on a single molecule (分子) called neurotensin (神经降压素). Our surrounding environment is constantly presenting our brain with stimuli (刺激). The molecule neurotensin acts as a key indicator of whether an experience is labeled as positive or negative, depending on the nature of the stimuli. Our brain subsequently associates similar stimuli with the pleasant or painful memory that we experienced.

The study by the Salk Institute was published in the journal Nature. The focus of their experiments was the brain circuitry of laboratory mice. After a sound was played, the mice received either a pleasant swallow of sugary water or, an unpleasant electrical shock or puff of air. The researchers discovered that neurotensin was the signal that associated the sound with reward or with punishment When the gene (基因) that regulates neurotensin was removed from the mice’s brains, they had more difficulty connecting the sound with the sugary water. However, the negative responses were enhanced.

Understanding how neurons in the brain respond to neurotensin could have influences on one’s mental health. Addictions may be caused by overly high levels of neurotensin (connected with positive rewards). On the other hand, depression and anxiety can result when decreased levels of neurotensin allow negative responses to dominate. Thus, regulating neurotensin could help to maintain mental stability. One other thing: The research study showed that the brain may tend to be a pessimist, focusing on fearful memories that cause negative emotional responses.

Perhaps insights into neurotensin will help us have fewer sour memories and more sweet ones.