영화 '약장수'는 할머니들에게 각종 건강식품과 생활용품을 파는 홍보관을 배경으로 어쩔 수 없이 홍보관 직원으로 취직한 주인공 일범의 눈물겨운 생존기를 다룬 휴먼드라마 장르로 가족과 효(孝)에 대한 진지한 물음을 던져 주는 작품이다.

Between 1971 and 1975 Joris Ivens and Marceline Loridan worked on the preparations and filming of the monumental 12 hours Yukong series, consiting of twelve parts. The series became a portret of the Chinese and their daily life with its many aspects, and the benefits of the Cultural Revolution, intended for a Western public. Little was known in the West about China, so this work was a welcome source of information and for many people a first inside view at Chinese culture and life, letting the Chinese speak themselves. Despite the restrictions Ivens and Loridan met (which often became clear only afterwards), and the regular political changes, the films remain an important document of a period in Chinese history. The filmseries was made on invitation of Zhou En-Lai, the prime minister of China.