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 "excerpt": "Eternal Wave (密战, aka 新永不消逝的电波) is a 2017 Chinese spy action film directed by Billy Chung, a loose remake of the 1958 classic, starring Aaron Kwok and Zhao Liying as underground radio agents in 1937 Japanese-occupied Shanghai; released November 3, 2017, grossing $1,427,082.",
 "snippet": "Eternal Wave (密战, aka 新永不消逝的电波) is a 2017 Chinese spy action film directed by Billy Chung, a loose remake of the 1958 classic, starring Aaron Kwok and Zhao Liying as underground radio agents in 1937 Japanese-occupied Shanghai; released November 3, 2017, grossing $1,427,082.",
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 "markdown": "# Eternal Wave\n\n**Eternal Wave** (Chinese: 密战, also released under the alternative title 新永不消逝的电波) is a 2017 Chinese spy action film directed by Billy Chung (钟少雄) and starring [Aaron Kwok](https://www.edgepedia.org/aaron-kwok), Zhao Liying, and Zhang Han. Set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai after the [Battle of Shanghai](https://www.edgepedia.org/battle-of-shanghai) in 1937, it follows a Communist underground radio operator sent to rebuild a destroyed resistance network. The film is a loose remake of Wang Ping's 1958 spy film *The Eternal Wave* and was released in mainland China on November 3, 2017.<sup>[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2240419/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://asianfilmstrike.com/2020/04/29/eternal-wave-2017-review/)</sup>\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | 密战 (Mizhan); alternative titles 新永不消逝的电波 and Eternal Wave<sup>[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2240419/)</sup> |\n| Release | November 3, 2017 (mainland China); January 21, 2021 (South Korea)<sup>[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2240419/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://letterboxd.com/film/eternal-wave/)</sup> |\n| Director / writers | Billy Chung (钟少雄); screenplay by Tan Cheung, Yunmo Jiang, and Zherui Li<sup>[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7628068/)</sup> |\n| Runtime | 100 minutes<sup>[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7628068/)</sup> |\n| Lead cast | Aaron Kwok (Lin Xiang), Zhao Liying (He Lanfang), Zhang Han (Liang Dong), Simon Yam (Qin Fengwu), Zhang Lanxin (Akiyama Masako), Zhu Yilong (Cen Zimo)<sup>[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7628068/)</sup> |\n| Worldwide gross | $1,427,082<sup>[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7628068/)</sup> |\n| Reception | IMDb rating 5.4/10 from 284 votes; 1905.com user score 5.3; Rotten Tomatoes lists 0 reviews and 0 ratings<sup>[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7628068/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2240419/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eternal_wave)</sup> |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nAfter the Battle of Shanghai (淞沪会战), the city falls to Japan. The underground Communist resistance network there has been nearly dismantled by a Japanese raid on its secret headquarters, and the political commissar Lin Xiang (Aaron Kwok) is sent to occupied Shanghai to rebuild it.<sup>[2](https://asianfilmstrike.com/2020/04/29/eternal-wave-2017-review/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2240419/)</sup>\n\nLin's cover is that of a businessman; in the film's promotional material he is described as running a tailor shop that makes high-end qipao for wealthy clients while secretly using radio waves to build an \"air bridge\" between Shanghai and the rear base at Yan'an.<sup>[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2240419/)</sup> He Lanfang ([Zhao Liying](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhao-liying)), a comrade from the Communist underground, is assigned to pose as his wife, and the two operate as a makeshift married couple while contending with Japanese forces and puppet-government agents.<sup>[2](https://asianfilmstrike.com/2020/04/29/eternal-wave-2017-review/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2240419/)</sup> Using radio telegraphy to circulate information, Lin gradually solidifies the network again, but he comes under suspicion from Japanese intelligence officer Akiyama Masako (Zhang Lanxin) and the Chinese collaborator Qin Fengwu ([Simon Yam](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-yam)).<sup>[2](https://asianfilmstrike.com/2020/04/29/eternal-wave-2017-review/)</sup> The also-ambiguous Liang Dong (Zhang Han) and the pianist-turned-resistance-fighter Cen Zimo (Zhu Yilong) fill out the underground's ranks.<sup>[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7628068/)</sup>\n\n## Historical basis and remake lineage\n\nThe film draws on real history. A 2019 academic paper notes that *Eternal Wave* takes its material from the true story of the underground radio operator [Li Bai](https://www.edgepedia.org/li-bai) and his wife, grafting fictionalized plot elements onto the character of Lin Xiang while aiming at a depiction closer to real historical prototypes than the stylized spy-craft of earlier films.<sup>[6](https://www.sinoss.net/uploadfile/2019/0806/20190806115353804.pdf)</sup> The title's alternative form, 新永不消逝的电波 (\"The New Eternal Wave\"), signals its relationship to the 1958 black-and-white classic *The Eternal Wave*, directed by Wang Ping, of which the 2017 film is a loose remake.<sup>[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2240419/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://asianfilmstrike.com/2020/04/29/eternal-wave-2017-review/)</sup>\n\n## Production and release\n\nA press conference marking the start of production was held in Shanghai on December 6, 2015, and the film's release date of November 3, 2017 was announced in September 2017 with a teaser poster and trailer.<sup>[7](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%86%E6%88%98/22103988?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)</sup> Aaron Kwok performed extensive parkour sequences and wire-work rooftop chases, was injured during filming, and continued to completion.<sup>[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2240419/)</sup> Chinese promotion reported an opening-day screening share of 19% nationwide.<sup>[8](https://www.gaobei.com/gaobeizt/article_41100.html)</sup> The film later received a South Korean theatrical release on January 21, 2021, and in 2021 it entered the 16th Changchun Film Festival's Golden Deer Award competition.<sup>[3](https://letterboxd.com/film/eternal-wave/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%86%E6%88%98/22103988?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)</sup>\n\n## Reception\n\nCritical response was mixed to negative. The Asian Film Strike review called it a pulpy spy thriller that was passably entertaining but often muddled, praising Zhang Lanxin's charismatic villain and Han Zhang's portrayal of a collaborator's crisis of conscience while criticizing a chemistry-free love story and characters introduced and then discarded; it rated the film 2.5 out of 5.<sup>[2](https://asianfilmstrike.com/2020/04/29/eternal-wave-2017-review/)</sup> Andrew Chan of the Film Critics Circle of Australia, writing for Neo Film Blog, rated it 5/10, finding the 1930s Shanghai sets well constructed and the action scenes reminiscent of 1990s [Jackie Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-chan) films, but the script routine and the characters thin, with Simon Yam \"wasted in a cartoonish traitor role\".<sup>[9](https://neofilmshop.com/blogs/news/film-review-eternal-wave-2017-china)</sup> Audience scores were middling: 5.4/10 on IMDb from 284 votes and 5.3 on 1905.com.<sup>[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7628068/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2240419/)</sup> Rotten Tomatoes records no reviews and no ratings for the film.<sup>[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eternal_wave)</sup>\n\n## Context in Chinese spy cinema\n\nThe film arrived in a period when theatrical spy films were scarce in China; a 2020 China Federation of Literary and Art Circlets publication noted that spy cinema had produced very few titles in the preceding years, with *The Message* (2009) standing as the genre's benchmark, and discussed *Eternal Wave* among the small number of recent entries.<sup>[10](https://www.cflac.org.cn/zgysb/dz/ysb/page_4/202008/P020200819251095257691.pdf)</sup> A 2019 academic commentary likewise credited *Eternal Wave* with renewing interest in the spy-film genre and filling a gap left by roughly five years without a major Chinese espionage film.<sup>[6](https://www.sinoss.net/uploadfile/2019/0806/20190806115353804.pdf)</sup>\n\n## References\n\n1. [密战 (2017), 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2240419/)\n2. [Eternal Wave (2017) review, Asian Film Strike](https://asianfilmstrike.com/2020/04/29/eternal-wave-2017-review/)\n3. [Eternal Wave (2017), Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/film/eternal-wave/)\n4. [Eternal Wave (2017), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7628068/)\n5. [Eternal Wave, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eternal_wave)\n6. [《密战》与谍战片研究论文, sinoss.net (PDF)](https://www.sinoss.net/uploadfile/2019/0806/20190806115353804.pdf)\n7. [密战（2017年钟少雄执导电影）, 百度百科](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%86%E6%88%98/22103988?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)\n8. [郭富城\"易容术\"粉丝点赞，《密战》公映口碑大爆, 高贝](https://www.gaobei.com/gaobeizt/article_41100.html)\n9. [Film Review: Eternal Wave 密战 (2017) - China, Neo Film Blog](https://neofilmshop.com/blogs/news/film-review-eternal-wave-2017-china)\n10. [中国艺术报 (2020年8月19日), 中国文联 (PDF)](https://www.cflac.org.cn/zgysb/dz/ysb/page_4/202008/P020200819251095257691.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2015–2019 films › Thriller and mystery films › Titles symbols to E*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n",
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