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Director Wen Muye speaks on latest anti-war movie_我的网站

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A still from the movie Once Upon a Time in the Middle East starring Shen Teng Photo: ICYears after tackling social issues in the breakout hit film Dying to Survive, Chinese director Wen Muye returns with Once Upon a Time in the Middle East. The film opened nationwide in China on Tuesday, and, including advanced screenings, crossed 200 million yuan ($29.6 million) at the box office on its first day.
It centers on an ordinary Chinese chef caught in the crossfire of war. Shen Teng stars as Xu Fu, a cook who travels to the fictional Middle Eastern capital of Bahata to repay family debts. There he joins forces with restaurant manager Ma Junsheng (actor Jiang Qiming) to run a Chinese eatery. When conflict erupts, the self-preserving every-man endures personal losses and gradually comes to protect local children.
Produced by Ning Hao, the film continues Wen's signature focus on "little people," this time placing them far beyond China's borders.
In an interview with the Global Times, Wen talked about the project's connection to news reports of Chinese migrants who open restaurants overseas and forge quiet connections through food.
"Many Chinese people go abroad simply to make a living," he told the Global Times. "They open restaurants, use food to break down regional barriers, and form deep bonds with locals."
The production team conducted extensive research and location scouting in the Middle East to capture everyday details. Elements such as free-running single-humped camels required overseas shoots; the resulting images of open space after confinement, Wen noted, carry a simple sense of hope.
Food functions as the film's central motif.
"Food more often stands for happiness and peace," Wen explained. "Even in a war-torn environment, people still cannot do without three meals a day. That sounds basic, but after all the big things in life, what people care about most are the simplest things - eating a proper meal and taking care of family."
A specialized food unit developed the dishes, and Shen trained extensively so that most of the wok-tossing sequences were performed by the actor himself, Wen said.
The film deliberately intercuts kitchen routines with combat sequences.
"Three meals a day represent our longing for peaceful life, while war is the extreme act that destroys peaceful life on a large scale," Wen said. "When they collide, each becomes clearer: Food feels more ordered and full of happiness; war feels more chaotic and dark."
He hopes the juxtaposition helps audiences recognize how hard-won ordinary peace really is.
Xu Fu's decision to shelter orphans never relies on lofty rhetoric, only a meal and a roof. Wen described this approach as rooted in a human-centered outlook rather than classic Western hero narratives.
"We place more weight on humanism and the value of a person's existence. Our culture is about living well, studying well, eating well, and looking after children. No matter how large the events, three meals a day remain unavoidable. Food itself has warmth and can give people real strength when they are in a difficult situation," Wen said.
The director noted that he wants viewers to leave with the plainest conviction: live properly, eat properly, and cherish the peace that exists in the present.
On balancing personal expression with commercial reach, Wen kept his principle simple: "Make the film well and tell the story well. I try to put what I want to express into foreshadowing and details without hurting the viewing experience. If audiences notice those details, I will be glad. If they do not, it does not affect the normal narrative."
From Dying to Survive and Miracle: Stupid Kid to the new film, Wen's view of human complexity has remained consistent. "People have many different sides. They face different circumstances and make different choices."
The through-line, he added, is the same plain belief: "Being able to enjoy a proper meal is the greatest happiness."
Early audience response has been overwhelmingly positive. Advanced screenings delivered scores of 9.7-9.8 on major Chinese platforms including ticketing platform Maoyan.
Many entered expecting a light Shen Teng comedy and left in tears, describing the experience as "laughing then crying." Shen's restrained performance has drawn particular praise, with some calling it the strongest of his career. Jiang's supporting work has also been widely noted.
Moviegoers have frequently highlighted the film's refusal to deliver speeches. Its focus on daily meals and small acts of care lands more powerfully than any slogan.
On the depiction of the conflict, audiences observe that the movie offers a perspective that "flips the Hollywood script" by casting the US as the invader, while refusing to portray US soldiers as pure villains. Instead they appear as ordinary young men: loose in discipline and marked by the alienation of war.
Both Chinese and overseas viewers have singled out this measured approach as part of the film's distinctive Chinese viewpoint: It sidesteps both Western hero narratives and simple demonization. Some international comments note that by staying with ordinary lives rather than choosing geopolitical sides, the story offers a different lens on conflict.
One widely circulated comment from a popular Chinese self-media account on WeChat captured the film's ambition: "You can think of this film as a blend of Casablanca, Schindler's List, and The Shawshank Redemption, yet at its core lies the same grounded human compassion found in Dying to Survive. This is a highly successful attempt by Chinese filmmakers to surpass Hollywood. It is the first Chinese film that truly possesses a global vision and a professional sense of international storytelling. It is also a gift of warmth and goodwill from the Chinese people to a world still torn by war and cruelty."
。研究人员发现，六光年之外的巨型超级地球行星可能有简单的生命。巴纳德B（或GJ699B）是一颗最近发现的绕巴纳德轨道运行的超级地球行星，它是离地球最近的第二颗恒星。

B | 巴纳德B被认为是极冷的，其温度与欧洲相似，大约在零摄氏度以下150度。但研究人员说，它的铁/镍“核心”温度相当高，地热活动非常强烈。维拉诺瓦大学的天体物理学家爱德华·桂南在美国天文学会的一次会议上说：“地热能支持地下生命带，就像南极洲的地下湖泊一样。”“我们知道，欧罗巴的表面温度与巴纳德B的相似。

C | 但是由于地热条件，液态水可能会在木卫二冰冷的表面下。如果存在水，地热可能会导致冷地表下存在液态水的“生命带”。

D | 这种情况与结冰的欧罗巴非常相似。”我们已经把注意力集中在巴纳德身上一段时间了，”约拿说。发现巴纳德B行星最重要的意义是在离太阳最近的两个恒星系统中都有行星。”这支持了先前基于开普勒望远镜数据的研究，即行星在银河系中普遍存在，甚至有数百亿个行星。恩格尔说：“巴纳德B被认为是一颗质量超过地球三倍的岩石行星。巴纳德的寿命大约是太阳的两倍。它已经存在了大约90亿年前，太阳存在了46亿年前。宇宙中的一些行星，即地球的大小，在地球上，甚至在太阳上存在了很长一段时间。