Before watching this documentary, I belonged to the unsophisticated sort that dread the monotony of documentaries. This film bitch-slapped me in the face. It was so fresh, so different and so illuminating that I started to regret having watched so few documentaries in my life.
The issue discussed in this documentary is really unorthodox and immensely interesting : Why the 22 US & UK prisoners captured by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War refused to return to their home countries and instead chose to remain in China.
When this question was first introduced in the film, my reflexive (and cynical) answer was that maybe these young, impressionable soldiers were brainwashed by the compelling Communist teachings they received during their capture, turning them into ardent believers in Communism. The Western world at that time thought so too. However, footages and interviews in the film invalidated these sceptical conjectures and proved them to be misinformed and baseless. Such an illuminating revelation disclosed to me the dangerous weakness in myself (and in most of us): At times when information and the truth were not available, we too readily resort to speculations based on our ignorant bigotry and make up our versions of imaginary stories that we hold dearly to.
The second speculated answer to the question was that these soldiers had committed ignominious crimes such as murder and theft on other soldiers and they had chosen to stay in China to evade the retribution back in their home countries. Such malicious accusations were dismissed in an interview by Mr. David Hawkins, one of the 22 soldiers (though without any convincing proof for his claim of innocence).
Instead, these prisoners of war (POW) offered various reasons for their stay. Some claimed that they chose to stay in China because they condemned the US's act of military intervention in Korea and they wished to call for peace. Some feared the possibility of being labelled as the spies from Red China and the inescapable destiny of being persecuted by McCarthyism if they return. The first reason of peace-pursuing sounded too noble and saintly for a cynic like me and I personally thought the second reason, fear for persecution, to be more genuine. At a time when the anti-Communism tide was high in the US, these soldiers stained with the Red stigma literally had no choice but to stay in China. They became the victims betrayed by their beloved countries, the scapegoats sacrificed in the unrelenting tide of history. (The truth is so sad and so ugly.)
The documentary then went on to portray these POWs' lives in China. They unanimously agreed that the Chinese were really nice to them and they led happy and meaningful lives in China. But after 1960, they were no longer addressed as "comrade" but as "Mr." instead, revealing the subtle change in their status from "dear friends" to "suspicious foreigners". Then came the Cultural Revolution...
Despite the positive light casted on their lives in China in the documentary, I maintain the view that they are tragic. Their fate was at mercy of the political environment. They were like the powerless chess pieces in a political game, being manipulated and exploited, being labelled as "traitors" (by the US) or "peace-makers" (by China) for different political purposes.
The director shared with us that his intention for shooting this documentary was to denounce wars and to advocate for peace. However, to me, I saw the revolting hypocrisy and sanctimony of the US government at that time and I saw the powerlessness and desperation of the victims of politics, not war. So, besides advocating for peace, I wish that politicians will care for their compatriots and countries will protect their countrymen so such history will not repeat itself.
