Evan Kail (PAWN MAN)

Once Upon a Time in the Middle East is China’s hottest movie right now. Based on a true story: a Chinese chef opens a restaurant in Iraq during the early 2000s war. He goes there just to make a living and pay off his debts. When the war breaks out, this ordinary guy ends up protecting children and the wounded in the middle of the rubble. But it’s more than a survival story. This is Chinese cinema finally telling the world’s stories through Chinese eyes — not just using foreign settings as backdrop for Chinese concerns. Why do the world’s stories only come from Hollywood? Why can’t we compare different versions — the American soldiers’ “hero” narrative, or an ordinary Chinese cook making food for kids in the ruins? For people in developing countries, it quietly raises questions that usually get ignored: Whose bombs destroyed their homes? Who actually wants them to stand on their own? Art is never just art. What we see shapes how we understand the world. More voices mean a better chance of real and objective understanding. The movie is not about “casting other nation as the invader”. Just a different lens from Hollywood — showing the real suffering of ordinary people in war. Worth watching.

China is awesome. I strongly encourage people to visit.