Okay, so I bought this thinking it was a disaster film – maybe like a modern-day EARTHQUAKE with a distinctly Asian slant. The box, showing a cover image of a little girl surrounded by rubble with the tag-line 'A Turbo-Charged Blockbuster Epic
Packs An Almighty Punch!', would lead you to believe that's exactly what this movie's about. Except it isn't. The earthquake happens briefly at the beginning of the film, and the subsequent devastation is of the emotional variety, taking place in a story that spans thirty years.
Yes, this is melodrama, and not a disaster film at all (the earthquake scene, while good, is short and over too quickly). I could handle that if the subsequent family drama was interesting or engaging, but it left me utterly cold and untouched throughout. It's extremely overlong, featuring characters I either disliked or openly hated, and I didn't care anything about their upset or bereavement. I found the acting to be shrill and unrealistic. The film just goes on and on until a too-obvious outcome that I could have predicted a couple of hours previously with little story to sustain or indeed justify that bloated running time.
Yes, this is melodrama, and not a disaster film at all (the earthquake scene, while good, is short and over too quickly). I could handle that if the subsequent family drama was interesting or engaging, but it left me utterly cold and untouched throughout. It's extremely overlong, featuring characters I either disliked or openly hated, and I didn't care anything about their upset or bereavement. I found the acting to be shrill and unrealistic. The film just goes on and on until a too-obvious outcome that I could have predicted a couple of hours previously with little story to sustain or indeed justify that bloated running time.