Abstract: Art film has become an important means to show the national image to the world because of its special international exchange.Among the Chinese art films released in recent years,the Crosscurrent is typical because it regards the important symbol of the Chinese nation, the Yangtze River, as the space-time background and object of presentation of the film.By analyzing the cultural awareness hidden behind the "Chinese" style of artistic presentation in the Crosscurrent and the national image created by this cultural awareness,this paper reflects on the cultural dilemma existing in Chinese art movies outside of film art,and then explores the corresponding solutions.