Although this movie is about the ineffective nationalistic government that failed to serve its people, there really was not much about the political statements against nationalists, instead, this movie is social criticism, as well as cultural introspection on the rigid feudal traditions in China that hampered the Chinese development, whether it is social, economical or legal.
The rigid feudal practice that dominated China for more than two thousand years was a source of stability for the Chinese society, but that was no longer the case, because it was not compatible with modern development and became a source of instability instead, which is accurately portrayed in this movie.
The rigid feudal practice that dominated China for more than two thousand years was a source of stability for the Chinese society, but that was no longer the case, because it was not compatible with modern development and became a source of instability instead, which is accurately portrayed in this movie.