The Big Parade (1986 film)

The Big Parade (simplified Chinese: 大阅兵; traditional Chinese: 大閱兵; pinyin: Dà Yuèbīng) is a 1986 Chinese drama film directed by Chen Kaige and with Zhang Yimou as cinematographer. It tells the story of a tough drill sergeant and his raw recruits.

Today, the film stands somewhat in the shadows to Chen Kaige's better-known works, including his directorial debut Yellow Earth and the Palme d'Or winning Farewell, My Concubine.

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The film was commissioned to commemorate the 1984 National Day parade. It was the second collaboration between Chen Kaige (director), Zhang Yimou (cinematographer), and He Qun (art director).

The film follows a group of soldiers through the difficult training required for participation in the National Day parade for the 35th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The soldiers, who have a high degree of visual cohesion, are differentiated over the course of the film through characterization as they address their individual challenges and the challenging training regimen.

The Big Parade is often seen as an exploration of the relationship of collectivism versus individualism. At the time, however, some western critics, including the New York Times, took the film at face value, seeing it as propagandist and describing it as a "boot camp" film. The New York Times, in particular, derided the film as a "Recruiting Poster for Collective Action." If critics felt that this was merely China's newest propaganda film, this was due in part to the heavy hand of the Chinese Film Bureau.