Once Upon a Time in the Middle East

Plot

Seeking a fresh start, chef Xu Fu travels to the Middle East to support his family and repay his debts. Alongside restaurant manager Ma Junsheng, he transforms the struggling Dragon Restaurant into a thriving business. But when war engulfs the city, their hard-won success is shattered and the restaurant becomes a refuge for those caught in the conflict. As danger closes in, Xu Fu must risk everything to protect his newfound community and preserve a small beacon of hope amid the devastation.

About Once Upon a Time in the Middle East

Once Upon a Time in the Middle East (Chinese: 欢迎来龙餐馆; pinyin: Huānyíng lái Lóng Cānguǎn; Arabic: مرحبًا بكم في مطعمِ التنينِ, romanized: Marhaban bikum fi maṭ'am al-tannin, lit. 'Welcome to the Loong Restaurant') is a 2026 Chinese war film written and directed by Wen Muye and starring Shen Teng and Jiang Qiming. It tells the story of Xu Fu, a philanthropic chef at a Chinese restaurant in the fictional city of Bahata in the Middle East. When a war erupts with the United States, he transforms his restaurant into a refuge for a group of orphans trapped in the city, but he is caught in the crossfire. Once Upon a Time in the Middle East was released in China on 11 August, 2026. It quickly gained popularity, crossing CN¥1 billion in just 8 days, opening at number one on the Chinese box office charts. It went on to gross more than CN¥2 billion at the Chinese box office and remained at the top of the Chinese box office charts for over a month. Despite the war depicted in the film being heavily implied to be the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the film never actually mentions what country it takes place in. Wen explained that he did not want to "limit it to any particular war" in history and emphasized the film's timeless and universal human themes, saying that the film's story could even be playing out in the present day. It was selected as the Chinese entry for Best International Feature Film…

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Images