From the start of the movie the audience is introduced to the soon-to-be unfortunate family of four. Then the earthquake strikes, and the family members' lives are changed forever.
Mother Nature/Fate is raw and unforgiving, a fact shown to perfection by each of the actors who portray the family members. The 1976 Tangshan Earthquake is a tragedy that has destroyed the lives of many, both directly and indirectly. As the film's opening sequence, the excellent special effects are not only spectacular, they also make the audience emotionally connect with the chaos that the protagonists are facing. Unlike "2012", here one will wince and cringe at the unfortunate circumstances that these people have faced.
But wait, there's more. In the aftermath of the chaos, the father is dead, and their two children are pinned under the rubble. The mother is forced to choose, for in that dire situation only one can be saved. The boy is chosen, however he loses his left arm. Hours later, after most of the people have evacuated the disaster zone, the girl awakens, miraculously, but to no mother nor father nor brother. She is all alone until she gets adopted by two of the rescue soldiers sent to assist the evacuation.
This is NOT a disaster movie, it's a poignant, emotional, and epic drama. As soon as the second arc takes off the film becomes even more emotionally drained. The mother can't forgive herself for letting her daughter die, she won't move out of her new house as respect to her dead husband and supposedly daughter as well. You can look in the mother's eyes to find them cold, dead and remorseful. The boy, on the other hand, chooses not to college and wants to become a travel agent. The daughter has nightmares about the earthquake and she had a promising medical career ahead of her, that was shattered due to an unexpected pregnancy. The choices that they make are influenced by the disaster. Tragedy or joy, fear or sorrow, we all make them, but there has to be one reason WHY we make them. The grown-up boy even says that one need not worry of a small earthquake and there's no point of escaping a large one, with nonchalance.
Spanning a time period of more than three decades, "Aftershocks" delivers in the emotion. Almost every actor (save for the horribly bland Canadian) are perfectly cast in their roles. The script, also is cleverly and beautifully written, and not in a cheesy soap-opera style. It is gripping, it is depressing, and it may shake you to your core. The ending where the family is reunited is not tacky or corny, but it delivers a huge emotional satisfaction to the audience.
The cinematography is arrestingly sweeping and the production design is top notch. The music is also grand and beautiful, and Feng Xiaogang's direction is outstandingly focused.
In short, this is a definite early contender for a Best Foreign Film Academy Award next year. I can see it sweeping the Chinese Film Awards, no doubt, and I hope people see this beautiful film for its frankness and honesty of life's mysterious and sometimes depressing ways.
Overall rating: 9/10
Mother Nature/Fate is raw and unforgiving, a fact shown to perfection by each of the actors who portray the family members. The 1976 Tangshan Earthquake is a tragedy that has destroyed the lives of many, both directly and indirectly. As the film's opening sequence, the excellent special effects are not only spectacular, they also make the audience emotionally connect with the chaos that the protagonists are facing. Unlike "2012", here one will wince and cringe at the unfortunate circumstances that these people have faced.
But wait, there's more. In the aftermath of the chaos, the father is dead, and their two children are pinned under the rubble. The mother is forced to choose, for in that dire situation only one can be saved. The boy is chosen, however he loses his left arm. Hours later, after most of the people have evacuated the disaster zone, the girl awakens, miraculously, but to no mother nor father nor brother. She is all alone until she gets adopted by two of the rescue soldiers sent to assist the evacuation.
This is NOT a disaster movie, it's a poignant, emotional, and epic drama. As soon as the second arc takes off the film becomes even more emotionally drained. The mother can't forgive herself for letting her daughter die, she won't move out of her new house as respect to her dead husband and supposedly daughter as well. You can look in the mother's eyes to find them cold, dead and remorseful. The boy, on the other hand, chooses not to college and wants to become a travel agent. The daughter has nightmares about the earthquake and she had a promising medical career ahead of her, that was shattered due to an unexpected pregnancy. The choices that they make are influenced by the disaster. Tragedy or joy, fear or sorrow, we all make them, but there has to be one reason WHY we make them. The grown-up boy even says that one need not worry of a small earthquake and there's no point of escaping a large one, with nonchalance.
Spanning a time period of more than three decades, "Aftershocks" delivers in the emotion. Almost every actor (save for the horribly bland Canadian) are perfectly cast in their roles. The script, also is cleverly and beautifully written, and not in a cheesy soap-opera style. It is gripping, it is depressing, and it may shake you to your core. The ending where the family is reunited is not tacky or corny, but it delivers a huge emotional satisfaction to the audience.
The cinematography is arrestingly sweeping and the production design is top notch. The music is also grand and beautiful, and Feng Xiaogang's direction is outstandingly focused.
In short, this is a definite early contender for a Best Foreign Film Academy Award next year. I can see it sweeping the Chinese Film Awards, no doubt, and I hope people see this beautiful film for its frankness and honesty of life's mysterious and sometimes depressing ways.
Overall rating: 9/10