The 400 Million (1939)

Joris Ivens’s wartime documentary of China’s resistance to the Japanese invasion, cross-cutting civilian exodus and bombing with the Nationalist state’s mobilization—schools, industry, dispersed war production, foreign relief—and guerrilla fighting. Framing an ancient nation of “400 million,” it contrasts tradition with modernization and closes on the unresolved question of victory.

• Release Date: 1939-03-07
• Runtime: 0h 54min
• Production Country: United States of America
• Directors: Joris Ivens, John Fernhout.