Film Review: Aftershock / Tangshan Dadizhen
I’m loving the fact that we’re finally getting a flurry of Eastern disaster movies flying across to the European pond. “Aftershock” was a massive success in its homeland China and deserves every accolaide thrown at it. A harrowing tale that takes disaster movies into a much more realistic and serious emotional journey – Aftershock breaks the mould.
The Premise
After a massive Earthquake tears a family of four to shreads, we watch the effects one decision has left on everyone for the next thirty years.
The Disasters Faced
Earthquakes, falling buildings, big concrete slabs, the lack of a sat nav in the afterlife and one armed cyclists.
The Execution
The earthquake takes place just a few minutes into the film and is all over in the first twenty however its effects resonate throughout this epic. This movie is much more geared to towards to emotional drama that sees a mother have to choose which child to save and which to leave to die. Upon choosing her son, leaving her daughter for dead, the two embark on a taut life together in mourning and pressured love. The son can never live up to the extra responsibility to honour his sister and father and the mother is utterly lost in guilt and mourning for her loved ones. Unknown to her, her daughter is not dead and heard the entire ordeal and so spends her life in fostering and never quite feeling good enough. The acting is superb and the script’s translation although clumsy in a few spots really makes for a powerful drama as all their lives intercross but never quite meet. It’s on these performances and the good pacing as we fastforward in ten year intervals to see how their lives are still broken that the film wins you over.
The Effects
The Earthquake is over quite quickly but is very well done with that slightly drawn CGI style that seems to permiate all eastern disaster movies these days. It works nicely and the sets of destruction after and rebuilding are brutal. There are some thoughtful long shots however of neverending body counts and fires for memorial that bring home the scale that are great touches too.
Why It’s Worth Watching
Aftershock is an emotional drama first and foremost and the actors are fantastic. The story will see you rooting for everyone as they sink further and further into despair as you hope for their reunion. Yes the disaster elements are there and they do a great job for providing such a brutal backdrop but this is one for the tissue box!
Best Death
Only one named character dies in the earthquake but best death goes to the daughters foster mum (Jin Chen) for her emotional and regretful death bed speech.
Favourite Character
This is a real dilemma but I think the daughter Fang is the one you’re most emotional attached to and so when you see all that she’s been through, you can forgive most of her mistakes although Mr Wang, the foster father should be present in everyones family!
Weirdest Moment
If your not wrapped up in the story, possibly seeing poor Mum (Fan Xu) scream crying at everyone for a good ten minutes may leave you unsettled! I personally was right with her! Also, damn her selfish mother for trying to take her son away too – she was evil!
Conclusion
If you’ve come for special effects and big budget action sequences you’ll be sorely dissapointed. Aftershock is an emotional rollercoaster that spans decades and countless mountains to climb. It’s quite unlike any other disaster movie I’ve watched to date and should find itself a place on everyones DVD shelf. Superb.
