As a group of specialized soldiers train for a parade at an isolated air force base, one soldier raises questions about the political rhetoric of self-sacrifice. The ideology of collectivity and military discipline are depicted through powerful shots of parade drills, while the emotional lives of individual soldiers are conveyed through scenes in the barracks and mess halls. The director had initially intended to conclude with an ironic sequence showing an empty Tiananmen Square combined with the sounds of a military parade, but censors insisted on footage of the actual National Day parade in the square. The film won the Jury Prize at Montréal World Film Festival and is awarded best film at Torino International Festival of Young Cinema in 1987.
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