Based on Zhu Dao-Nan's memoir "In the Flood of the Great Revolution", the film reproduces the historical picture of the changing circumstances of China before and after the Great Revolution through the pursuit, struggle and differentiation of young intellectuals such as Jin Gong-Shou, Gu Da-Ming, and Yang Ru-Kuan in the revolutionary tide.
Shot in gorgeous color, this fascinating communist flipside to fifties Hollywood music biopics chronicles the life and tragic early death of Nie Er, the composer of the PRC’s national anthem.
Wang Jiayou, a young worker at the Shanghai New Machinery Factory, is a man whose life is unorganized, does not pay attention to labor discipline, and often spends his youth in dance halls, skating rinks and cafes. When working during the day, he appears listless and often has accidents.
Before the liberation of Shanghai, Nationalist agent Zhang Rong is ordered to blend in with the captive workers of the Baotong Mill and wait for a chance to act. After the liberation, he returns to the factory, disguising himself as a far-left agitator and causing friction between the workers and management.
At a Shanghai apartment, Mr Hou, a Nationalist official, gets ready to move to Taiwan upon the imminent defeat of the KMT during the Civil War. Mrs Hou gives an ultimatum to the rest of the tenants to move out on behalf of her husband, who is the "owner" of the flat and who is now planning to sell it. From the conversations with the rest, we find out that Hou has been a Hanjian during the Sino-Japanese War and that he has since taken over the apartment by force from the old landlord, Mr Kong. The tenants, including Mr Kong, Mrs Xiao, Little Broadcast (alias Mr Xiao, played by Zhao Dan) and a schoolteacher, Mr Hua, and his wife, initially plan to band together, but circumstances force them to find other ways out. Mr Hua tries to find a place to stay at the KMT-sponsored school he is teaching in. Little Broadcast and Mrs Xiao invest in black market gold. As the situation escalates, Mr Hua gets arrested by KMT agents and his young daughter falls desperately ill.
