Thursday, December 21, 2017

Film Review: The Dissection of the Characters in ‘The Exchange’

By Yingzi, Japan
The Exchange, the title of the film, sounds very appealing. From the title, we can see that there must be a special conversation in this film. Then what kind of conversation is it? Which people are involved in it? As the following characters make their entry, we’ll get the answer.

The first character: “8523.” Are you sure this is a person’s name? Yes, I’m pretty sure. This is how the CCP cops called the protagonist at the beginning of the film. Actually, in the prison of China, people are usually called by numbers like this. But why had the protagonist Jiang Xinyi been given a number before she was arrested? With the unfolding of the story, we’ll know that the CCP cops just like to call people by numbers.

The second character: Lang Xin. Is it a name of a person? Why is it pronounced like “wolf’s heart”? Actually, this is the captain of the National Security Team, the first representative of the CCP, and also the first person to have a conversation with Jiang Xinyi. Let’s see how he talked with Jiang Xinyi. A group of cops headed by Captain Lang broke into the house of Auntie Wang with beast-like ferocity. They not only wantonly rummaged through chests and cupboards and pocketed the money they searched out, but also kicked Auntie Wang, an old lady who was over 70 years old, down to the floor. Seeing the outrageous acts of the CCP cops, Jiang Xinyi questioned them, “As people’s police, how can you willfully beat people?” Lang Xin twisted his mouth, with a movement of his head to one side, and walked before Jiang Xinyi. He slapped Jiang Xinyi on her face, grabbed her hair, and dragged her up, sneering, “Come and look! This is ‘8523’! A great leader of the Church of Almighty God! Humph!” This is the first round of conversation. At this point, we come to know that this is a very special conversation: a conversation between the CCP cops with electric batons in hands and the handcuffed Christians. From the ferocity and inhumanity that the CCP cops have showed, we can ascertain that Jiang Xinyi and the other Christians will inevitably suffer cruel tortures next.

According to reason, Jiang Xinyi and all the others should be taken to the police station. In this film, however, the cops took them to Long Chao Hotel in the suburbs. Is this hotel a prison? The name of the hotel, Long Chao, is pronounced like the lair of the dragon in Chinese. We all know that the CCP calls themselves descendants of the dragon, and Revelation says: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil.” So does the name of Long Chao imply that this hotel is the nest of the devils? While entering this hotel, there’s truly an oppressive chill, gloom and terror pervading the house, making people feel like stepping into the hell. What kind of tricks and wiles are the CCP cops going to play here?

The third character: Ma Zhijun, the deputy head of the National Security Team. Once seeing Jiang Xinyi, he closely questioned her whether she was a district leader and who her upper leader was. When Jiang Xinyi didn’t answer to his expectation, he slapped her face violently. Jiang Xinyi advised them not to resist God, for God had instructed man in the Age of Law: “visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy to thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:5-6). Not only did Ma Zhijun not listen to her, he even slapped her face fiercely, dragged her hair, and violently knocked her head against the wall. After that, Jiang Xinyi was hung up, and Lang Xin said to her with sarcasm, “Don’t you want to testify God and be loyal to God? Don’t you want to bear a resounding testimony? I’ll make you a Judas and let you shame God!” So saying, he jabbed Jiang Xinyi with the electric baton.

After that, there was a shot which deeply touched my heart: When Jiang Xinyi was hung up, she heard the screams of her co-workers and the cops’ questioning from the next room. “Who is your church leader? Where is the church money?” We can imagine that Jiang Xinyi must be both distressed and indignant at the moment: She was distressed for her co-workers’ suffering tortures while feeling indignant at the savage acts of the cops. The substance of the CCP and its evil purpose of persecuting the Christians were fully exposed in this round of conversation. The CCP cops rob by force like bandits and act like devils coming down to the human world, making people tremble with fear. They take pleasure in tormenting people and forcing them to betray God and be a Judas. No wonder it’s said that when people fall into the hands of the CCP, even if they can luckily escape death, they will surely suffer a lot, and that entering the interrogation room of the CCP is as if stepping into the gate of the hell.

After being tortured time and again, Jiang Xinyi and all the others refused to yield to the despotic power of the CCP. The director of the Public Security Bureau had no idea but to invite several “able persons.”


The fourth character: Yuan Hua, principal of the statutory education school. Upon hearing the name, we may presume that this man is crafty and cunning, and his following acts and words just confirm this conjecture. While seeing that Jiang Xinyi was beaten covered with wounds, Yuan Hua arranged a room for her to have a rest and showed her excessive attention. What’s his purpose of doing so? Then he said, “Ms. Jiang, I’m here to help you. As long as you confess everything concerning your faith, sign the letter of repentance, and promise you will not believe in God in the future, we’ll let you go home immediately and you’ll be free then.” Here, he finally showed up his evil intention. It turned out that he came to persuade people to deny and betray God. At last, he threatened, “If you persist in believing in God, you’ll be imprisoned and your final end is death!” The conversation of this round is one of the most exciting parts of the film. Jiang Xinyi once worked as a journalist in the party press, which was envied by all people. Yuan Hua just couldn’t understand why she could give up her job and risk her life to believe in God. I believe that you will get the answer after watching the exchange of this round. Perhaps it will also stimulate you to examine anew your outlook on life and values. The conversation between Jiang Xinyi and Yuan Hua unravels the puzzle of what sort of path man should take in his life. It has also answered the question that mankind has been asking all along: In this evil and dark age, where is the light and the righteousness? The exchange of this round is worthwhile to taste with our heart.


The fifth character: Director Du Guirong. On hearing her name, we can ascertain that she’s someone who attaches herself to the CCP to pursue high position and great wealth. Then how did she talk with the Christians? We only see that she said arrogantly and domineeringly, “We communists just don’t believe in God and don’t acknowledge that God’s word is truth. So it is intolerable to us that you testify God and especially testify that God is incarnated. We’ll certainly oppose and condemn it. If God hadn’t been incarnated and expressed the truth, would there be so many people following God? So what we hate most is the incarnated God and the truth expressed by Christ. Do you know this? …” Director Du had her own theories, but after several rounds of debate, she exhausted all her tricks. At last, she even spoke out such shameless words, “The CCP’s mouth is bigger than yours,” which completely shows her shamelessness and servility of depending on the CCP.

The sixth character: Pastor Feng, a pastor of the Three-Self Church who does not even know who he believes in, as well as a false leader who drags out an ignoble existence for the sake of his job. Let’s see what he spoke. “Sister Jiang, the reality is cruel. If you hold on to the truth, you’ll inevitably suffer persecution and undergo great sufferings. And your life isn’t guaranteed! You should know that the CCP is a revolutionary political party. They’ll take your life if you don’t obey them.” “I’m sure you’ll have a great prospect if you believe in the Lord in the Three-Self Church. You’ll soon become a pastor, and perhaps even become a member of the Political Consultative Committee. You’ll gain both fame and wealth!” See? Does he have any likeness of a Christian? Why do these words sound like the words of an unbeliever? It really makes us suspect whether he is a person who serves God. It seems that he is indeed a false leader. This round of conversation also reveals the root cause of the religious world’s resisting God. Finally, the pastor was rendered speechlessly and fled in defeat. Have you understood something from this?

After failing in the brainwash, Yuan Hua and the CCP cops turned to torture Jiang Xinyi and all others by various cruel means: Using wheel combat, racking them into a spread eagle, ducking their heads in the water, crushing the bend of their legs with a thick stick, pricking their fingers with steel needles, etc. Relying on the faith and strength given by God’s words, Jiang Xinyi and all others overcame death, overcame all the evil forces, and defeat Satan!

At the end of the film, the director of the Public Security Bureau shouted exasperatedly, “What’s the use of lengthening their term of imprisonment? What I want is the church money and the name list of the leaders of the Church of Almighty God! That’s what’s most important!” It turns out that the CCP persecutes believers in God in such an inhuman and brutal way just for plundering the money of the church, exterminating all Christians, and turning China a place without God, so that it can forever rule the Chinese people. Because of this evil and reactionary purpose of the CCP, not only Jiang Xinyi and all the others were sentenced to imprisonment, there are much more Christians undergoing the arrest and persecution of the CCP in real life.

Through the wonderful conversations, you can have a deeper understanding of the inner world of the Christians, see clearly the true face of the CCP’s persecuting the religious belief, and even more know God’s work and God’s salvation toward mankind. The Exchange, constituted of profound conversations, is worth watching more than one time!

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