From a Western perspective this was an odd one, Chinese protagonist with the West portrayed as the bad guys(or at least the opposition) for the bulk of the movie.
Yet as an autistic individual, the protagonist was at least autistic-coded and relatable, missing a lot of social cues but honourable.
The main Western character wasn't portrayed as evil per se though the portrayal was still a bit odd. Exile fleeing occupied Poland, winds up in China having picked up native-level US-English along the way. OK, right fine.
And er...major goof..."I am the Walrus" had not been released in 1964 yet it still gets referenced heavilly.
Still, what felt like a "scraping the bottom of the barrel" cinema trip still worked out with the main conflict portrayed as a brutal chess match between friends turned rivals.
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