1911 (film)

Plot

The story closely follows key events of the Xinhai Revolution, with focus on Huang Xing and Sun Yat-sen. It begins with the Wuchang Uprising of 1911 and follows through historical events such as the Second Guangzhou Uprising on 27 April 1911, the deaths of the 72 martyrs, the election of Sun Yat-sen as the provisional president of the new Provisional Republic of China, the abdication of the last Qing dynasty emperor Puyi on 12 February 1912, and Yuan Shikai becoming the new provisional president in Beijing on 10 March 1912.

Production

Production started on 29 September 2010 in Fuxin, Liaoning, where a camera rolling ceremony was held. After half a year of intense production, it wrapped up on 20 March 2011 in Sanya, Hainan.

Release

The film was released on 23 September 2011 in China and on 29 September 2011 in Hong Kong. It opened the 24th Tokyo International Film Festival on 22 October 2011. It was released in its original version in North American theatres on 7 October 2011.

Reception

1911 received generally negative reviews; it currently holds a 9% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. On Metacritic, which uses an average of critics' reviews, it holds 37/100, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews, e.g. on the Opionator.

The Economist noted that while the film was endorsed by the Chinese government officials, ticket sales have been poor. It also noted that the film avoided sensitive topics, such as the reforms which led to the revolution.