The film De Xian Jin Zhi is set to premiere nationwide on December 6. As the first theatrical release produced by Daylight Entertainment, it unveiled a new trailer titled “For Home, To Defend Home,” depicting civilians who lose their homes again and again during wartime but continue to rebuild hope. When invaders once more reach the peaceful town of Gezhi, these ordinary people choose to take up improvised weapons and fight to protect the land behind them.
The film is written by Lan Xiaolong, directed by Kong Sheng, produced by Hou Hongliang, and stars Xiao Zhan, Peng Yuchang, and Zhou Yiran, with Yang Xinming, A Runa, Gan Yichen, Zhou Siyu, and Yan Zhidu, and a special appearance by Yin Zheng.
The trailer reflects the sorrow of displaced people, framed by poetic lines such as “The nation is broken, yet rivers and mountains remain” and “When bowing my head, I think of home.” The Mo family represents countless families torn apart by war: craftsman Mo Dexian (Xiao Zhan), his wife Xia Cheng (Zhou Yiran), the elderly great-grandfather (Yang Xinming), and the young Mo Dengxian (Yan Zhidu). Their home is destroyed repeatedly, forcing them to flee endlessly.
Gezhi Town offers brief refuge from war. Its name—Ge meaning “weapon” and Zhi meaning “to stop”—symbolizes people’s longing for peace. But when the enemy invades once more, burning and pillaging, Mo Dexian can no longer suppress the rage within him. He takes up grenades, the great-grandfather wields an axe, and townsfolk grab farm tools to fight bullets and bayonets. At the edge of survival, ordinary people reveal extraordinary courage—for family, for memory, and for a home that must not fall.
With a micro-level perspective, the film focuses on civilians swept into war. Lan Xiaolong and Kong Sheng aim to show the fragile yet resilient lives of ordinary people struggling to endure and resist.
Mo Dexian, a skilled traditional craftsman, bears a deep family grievance against the invaders. Though capable of turning everyday tools into weapons, he suppresses his rage for the sake of protecting the loved ones left to him. Xia Cheng is clear-eyed yet tender, balancing fear and determination. The elderly patriarch, drifting between confusion and clarity, remembers only one truth: “The enemy is the enemy.” Young Mo Dengxian’s name—drawn from the classical verse “Do not idle away your youth”—embodies the family’s hope.
De Xian Jin Zhi is more than a war film—it is a portrait of home, heritage, and the profound strength of ordinary people. When civilians have nowhere left to run and choose instead to stand and fight, their bravery becomes the most powerful force on the battlefield.
