Actor Pu Cunxin (right) speaks at a media event to promote the movie The Yellow River in Beijing.[Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

"Wind is raging. Horses are whinnying. The Yellow River is roaring."

The lyrics of The Yellow River Cantata boosted the fighting spirit of the Chinese when facing the Japanese during wartime and influenced later generations, too.

Now, a movie based on the cantata aims to stir audiences.

The Yellow River, a cinematic mix of a cantata concert and poetry recitation, opened in cinemas nationwide on Sunday.

Cast members such as actor Pu Cunxin were seen at a preview in Beijing last week, while China Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Yu Long and pianist Lang Lang remotely participated in the event. The China Philharmonic Orchestra performs the cantata.

The eight-movement cantata was written by Chinese composer Xian Xinghai in 1939, two years after the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) broke out.

Set along the shores of the Yellow River, it eulogizes China's glorious history and the struggles of the Chinese people, and also describes the Japanese invaders' atrocities at the time.