Chinese war comedy-drama Once Upon a Time in the Middle East has emerged as one of China's biggest summer releases, drawing attention for telling a story of war from a perspective rarely seen in mainstream blockbusters.
Directed by Wen Muye, best known for Dying to Survive, the film stars Shen Teng as Xu Fu, a Chinese chef who travels to the Middle East to support his family and repay debts. Together with restaurant manager Ma Junsheng, played by Jiang Qiming, he builds a life around a Chinese restaurant before war turns their world upside down.
The film opened nationwide in China on August 11 and quickly became a box-office hit. Its cumulative box office surpassed 900 million yuan (about 126 million U.S. dollars) by 8:11 p.m. on August 16, less than a week after its release, placing it third at the global weekend box office despite those earnings coming from China alone.
Beyond its commercial success, the film has also drawn attention for challenging a Middle East narrative long shaped by Hollywood.
Rather than treating the region merely as a battlefield, an exotic backdrop or a setting for Western heroes, Once Upon a Time in the Middle East puts the everyday lives of local people at the centre of the story.
Through the eyes of a Chinese chef, the film portrays Middle Eastern characters as people with families, communities, values and aspirations of their own, while exploring how ordinary lives are transformed when war arrives.
The perspective offers global audiences a different lens on a region whose image in global popular culture has for decades been heavily influenced by American cinema.
An overseas theatrical rollout has been anticipated as part of the industry's growing push to bring Chinese commercial films to international audiences, although confirmed release dates for major overseas markets have yet to be widely published.
Reporter: Xie Hongzhou
Cameraman: Xie Hongzhou
Video: Xie Hongzhou
Poster: Xie Hongzhou
