User Reviews

I was quite disappointed by this movie. it is true, the horrors displayed are appalling, but the story itself... I won't say "even worse", as the tortures presented were almost too painful to watch, but it gets quite close to that. I mean, couldn't they have thought of a better way to present the suffering of those people than turning them into saints that can predict the future, save dying children aso?? I, myself, am quite touchy when it comes to such things... maybe I am being silly, but the story was too "romantic" for my taste: man tortures innocent woman unwillingly, woman warns man of an impending danger, danger manifest itself in the form of a terrible sandstorm, child gets lost in the storm, man's wife dies (why does she get punished??? she had no idea what those people were preaching, she didn't know that they would be tortured by the authorities, she didn't get the chance to redeem herself.), man embraces woman's beliefs, man survives and finds out his girl had been saved by the very people he was torturing. no, not my kind of story

Sandstorm is both terrible and magnificent to watch, in particular because the events of the film are effectively unfolding as we speak in many different contexts in China. Right from the beginning, I was immersed in the plot, which takes one deep into the relationship between a resilient torture victim and a conflicted police inspector, the perpetrator of the violence. Other characters play significant roles in the film, and many of them collectively contribute to a deeper understanding of the state of personal terror in which many Chinese exist, as well as the heroism it takes to break free of it. The film has a limited budget; its power is all in its story and the compelling characters who it helps us understand. I particularly appreciated the scenes depicting the police inspector's internal tribulations. He decides to look past the state propaganda and try to understand the victim's Falun Gong beliefs, for which she is being persecuted, for himself. This way, he breaks through his conditioning to recognize his victim as a good and innocent person, and this far-reaching persecution as groundless. The tragedy is that she is already dead, killed by the torture; the hope lies in the fact that a dedicated civil servant can see through the lies he has been following and take a personal stand. Incredible film -- it brought be to tears on several occasions. I look forward to future pieces by Mahonen!