Re: Tangshan dadizhen [Aftershock]
One of the best movies I have seen this year.
The beginning starts just before the earthquake takes place. A swarm of locusts is hurriedly flying away from something big. From this event, we are introduced us to 3 members of the Zhang family. Riding in a truck, Da Qiang and his twins: Fang Da, the son and Fang Deng, the daughter, notice the swarm and Da Qiang notes that a storm is coming. Little did he know, in just a few hours, he would be dead.
This sets up the premise nicely and leads to the big earthquake. Just before the earthquake strikes, the parents share an intimate moment and Fang Da and Feng Deng are both asleep.
The earthquake strikes. Both Fang Da and Fang Deng are trapped inside the building where they live while the parents, hearing the commotion outside, rush out of the truck to save their children. Fang Deng calls out to her mom and after hearing this, Yuan'ni (mom) carelessly tries to rush in to save her children only to be pulled back and pushed away from the wreckage by her husband, Da Qiang. Da Qiang rushes in as an attempt to save his children, but to no avail, the building collapses right after he goes in. Da Qiang dies but Yuan'ni's twin children are still alive. They are buried beneath the rubble and Yuan'ni is forced to make a life changing decision that will haunt her for the rest of her life. Feng Deng, overhearing her mom's decision, miraculously survives and is taken in by army foster parents. From there, we get a glimpse at life for Fang Da and Yuan'ni afterwards and we closely delve into Feng Deng's upbringing leading up to her reunification with her brother and mother.
This film is the first IMAX one to be made outside the US and it does not disappoint.
Feng Xiaogang has done an excellent job at not making this an overwrought drama but a drama circled around a tragic event. He shows rather than tells and it just makes all the scenes that much more emotional. He also has managed to make every character sympathetic so that we all want the family to reunite once again. Every moment is not wasted and is either character development or story driven. He really got the essence of the Chinese values/morals down pat and never deviated from it in an attempt to make the story seem more than what it really is.
The cast did an excellent job especially the mother who did a fantastic job displaying grief, love and trying to project hope afterwards.
The music might seem a bit heavy handed at first but it really enhanced the mood during the tense scenes and really captured the atmosphere of the different scenes.
This movie tugs at your heartstrings, succeeds at every turn and you just want the characters to have peace and happiness.
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Crowd Report: Many people cried throughout the movie. It is a tear-jerker so I would recommend bringing a couple of boxes of tissues just in case.
10/10
