Aftershock

I highly recommend "Aftershock", the first Chinese movie to play on IMAX, adapted from a novel by Ling Zhang, and out on the screens in 2010. directed the movie, which tells the story of a family torn apart by the 1976 Tangshan earthquake that killed at least 240,000 people. You may never have heard or remember this terrible earthquake, but I guarantee you will after seeing the movie.

When both her son and daughter find themselves stuck beneath the same cement slab during the Tangshan earthquake,Yuan Ni must choose whom to save. She chooses her son, and this decision will shape the fate of her family for the thirty-two years that will follow. The movie is not so much about the catastrophe than about the emotional journey of a family following the tragedy. The acting is very good, and the story captivating. I found the earthquake episode itself very realistic, if not terrifying (I for one, after spending a few years in an earthquake prone zone, know what it feels like). You cannot help being drawn into the fate of this family and the consequences that their decisions will lead to. I had tears in my eyes. The film also offers some aspects of Chinese life for those who have never been there.

I am aware that there have been fierce critics of the movie. "It is not a particularly honest film," says Dan Edwards (thebeijinger.com) "Problems, ambiguities and unpalatable complications in China's recent past are neatly airbrushed out to show a society that has suffered greatly through "hand of god" calamities, but that has overcome these cruel turns of fate to build an ever-improving, ever-more-prosperous China. It's a vision of the past thirty years that meshes nicely with the contemporary emphasis on nationalism and "looking to the future" rather than dwelling on the divisions of the past." However, if you forget about this aspect of Chinese history (as well as a few holes in the story) you will enjoy the movie.

I am posting the trailer here, although I find it does not depict the movie very well. It focusses solely on the drama of the earthquake itself, while this only represents a few minutes of the film.