Top 10 movies screened in China in 2012
- By Zhang Rui
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E-mail China.org.cn, December 31, 2012
Back to 1942
Unlike his previous work, Feng Xiaogang's new film "Back to 1942" is the first film that does not take place in contemporary China. The film is set in the titular year shortly before the end of the second Sino-Japanese war, which ends with general Chiang Kai-shek's retreat to Taiwan and Mao Zedong's victory in 1949.
A locust invasion, droughts and governmental inadequacy, as well as the transfer of significant amounts of food produce aimed at countering the Japanese invasion, lead to a famine of colossal proportions in Henan province from 1942 to at least 1943. The film describes the quasi-biblical exodus of Yanjin County inhabitants towards the Shaanxi area in their desperate quest for food.
A rich, if slightly goofy, landlord and his family live in a fortified mansion around which village life actually revolves. That is until bandits assault the village, forcing the landlord and his family, along with their fellow villagers, to flee the violence and search for food elsewhere. As time goes by, their helpless journey is plagued by hunger, Japanese bombardments and internecine struggles.
The film and its director are clearly concerned with the human suffering that occurred in Yanjin, the cruelty of which is amply documented, and has been granted a generous dose of empathy.
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