When Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party took power in 1949, Sung Neng Yee had hopes that they would usher in a new era of peace and prosperity for China.
The communists said they hoped for that, too. And part of their vision—rooted in the atheistic ethos of communism—was to “re-educate” all religious citizens in antireligious campaigns.
It’s why they pull a pregnant Neng from her teaching job for questioning. She’s married a man from the British colony of Hong Kong, and her parents sent her to Christian schools for education, so they’re concerned about her commitment to Mao’s vision for China.
Neng adamantly tells them that, though she may have gotten swept up in a Christian bandwagon when she was younger, she grew out of her beliefs as she got older.
But as she thinks about those beliefs she had had as a child, Neng begins to realize that, though distant, perhaps she still does believe in the Christian God.
“Are you a Christian?” A government official demands.
Slowly, the thoughts in her head racing, Neng opens her mouth to respond.
Audiences may take a couple general messages from the movie, the most prominent of which is that God asks for faith—no matter how small it may be. Neng admits that she feels far from God. But despite her doubts and confusion, she can’t deny that Jesus is Lord. And in that mustard seed of faith, Neng finds God.
We also see a message about perseverance in the midst of persecution. Neng holds fast to her belief in God despite communist pressure, and her story gives hope to other Christians she meets under similar conditions, too.
A kindly woman helps Neng find milk for her child. She’s a Christian, and she introduces Neng to a small congregation of believers who worship in secret. The others likewise do their best to provide for Neng’s baby.
Not long after Mao Zedong takes power, the Chinese Communist Party begins arresting nuns and priests, hoping to eradicate Christianity from the land. They question Neng, too, since she went to Christian schools when she was young. Neng initially says that faded away by the time she was 16. But she also states that, in a time of stress, she prayed to God asking that He would allow her to claim Him as her friend.
However, as Neng writes about her experiences, and as she’s questioned by the authorities, she comes to realize that she does still have a semblance of belief in God. “He may be distant from me, but I will not deny His presence,” she says, affirming her faith.
Later, Neng recognizes that God performed a miracle for her. We see a depiction of that miracle, wherein a firing squad of soldiers—briefly blinded by a brilliant light and rushing wind—miss their shots. She also states that God spoke to her and told her that her family would escape. And she remains pregnant long after her due date, which she attributes to God holding back the birth of her child until they’re out of China.
Kids sing the Christian hymn “Take My Life and Let It Be.” Neng recites a portion of Psalm 23. A group of Christian meet in secret to worship. One of the worshippers says that “when you plant seeds of faith, you find God.” Another congregant tells Neng that God has given him a message for her—to trust God one day at a time.
A man tells Neng to take God with her as she leaves the country, since it’s His last chance to escape—and “within a decade, He will be locked away in a museum.” But Neng responds, “To do that, Colonel, you would have to imprison the wind.”
Neng asks her husband, Cheng, if he believes in the Christian God, and Cheng says that Mao “cut out the Christian God’s tongue years ago.” A pagan seer performs a ritual and tosses a stick onto a photo of a man which tells her that “a dark cloud hangs over him at this moment.”
Neng and Cheng kiss a couple of times, and in one instance, they giggle and discuss their future while in bed together before the scene fades away, implying more happened offscreen. They briefly discuss their sex life. Neng explains that she’s placed eggs in the bed to bring luck regarding her fertility.
We’re told that Cheng’s father had many concubines, and authorities question Cheng about why his father has so much sex.
Chinese authorities burn down a brothel, and they briefly mistake the passing Neng for one of the “sing-song girls.” We overhear news that communists have stopped activity in a red-light district.
A man is shot and killed. Soldiers smack citizens with guns, drawing blood. A soldier knocks a man unconscious with the butt of his rifle. The government tests experimental drugs on a man, and we see him heavily bleed and pass away as a result. Soldiers beat and kick a pregnant woman. Neng punches a man. Two men fist fight. People suffer under strenuous labor and inadequate conditions. A woman suffers through the heat of a desert. Someone narrowly avoids being executed via firing squad.
Someone describes a place as a “hell hole.” Someone calls Neng a “wh-re.”
A man drinks alcohol.
The communists allege, without proof, that Neng’s father stole large sums of money from a hospital.
Biopics are interesting things for us to review. Because they’re rooted in history, it’s often that many will take it upon themselves to verify that the contents within the film are genuine (a conversation we’ve discussed on The Plugged In Show).
And when Nora Lam’s (then Sung Neng Yee) story in China Cry was released, produced by the sometimes controversial Trinity Broadcasting Network, it got much of the same treatment. Notably, the release of the film came with allegations that the depictions in the film didn’t match up with the person whose story they followed.
But regardless of how accurate a biopic is, we approach each one by analyzing the story and message of the film on its own merit. Sure, it may be that The Imitation Game is only 42.3% true to the actual story; but what kind of message does the story, enclosed within itself, bring?
And in China Cry, that message is one of Christian perseverance and God’s faithfulness. Though Neng can hardly recognize her own faith, she’s nevertheless confident that it’s there, no matter how small. And though small that faith in Christ may be, God takes her as His own.
As Neng sides with Christ against the Chinese government, it calls to mind God’s command to not fear those who can kill the body; rather, fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). Because, though God delivered Neng physically out of China, He didn’t do the same for every faithful Chinese Christian; many were slain under the oppressive regime.
But that is not to say that those Christians were not delivered. Because in their repentance and belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Risen Savior, those Christians were just as delivered as Neng from the domain of darkness and into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Colossians 1:13-14).
And in that moment when God does or does not choose to physically deliver us from oppressors, perhaps China Cry can be a reminder of that truth.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Our weekly newsletter will keep you in the loop on the biggest things happening in entertainment and technology. Sign up today, and we’ll send you a chapter from the new Plugged In book, Becoming a Screen-Savvy Family, that focuses on how to implement a “screentime reset” in your family!
