Reminded me of Soviet films
People who have seen films made in Soviet Union, will probably find this film strangely familiar. Here we can also see a great deal of covert communist propaganda, like we see in most Soviet films. Yes, the film is not as optimistic as a typical propaganda film should be, but still the message is clear that communism is far superior to traditional way life.
But the film is not bad (neither are many Soviet films). It was visually beautiful and had a very emotional, yet simple, love story. And let's not forget the great collection of traditional Chinese folk songs. The last part, after the soldier left the village, was a bit unnecessary, in my opinion. The film could have stopped with the tragic singing of the girl as the soldier walked into the distance. Which would have made it a rather short film, but that's not a bad thing.