The Aftermath Of Aftershock

Aftershock is not merely a tragedy film. Director Feng Xiaogang drew out the psychological impacts on victims after a major earthquake.

The film is coming to an end of its screening in Singapore so I figured I had better catch it with my beloved before the curtains are drawn. I've always preferred to catch a film close to its end of run because the smaller crowd will allow me to focus on the story with little distractions. Yet another good decision for a film like Aftershock.

To introduce the film, Aftershock is based on Tangshan's earthquake in 1976 that saw more than 240,000 deaths overnight. The real tragedy wasn't in the earthquake alone. While buildings can be re-constructed, the impact on humans living in such times is quite another matter as the film depicted. Families were broken apart in mere seconds, children were being adopted and lives changed completely thereafter.

The first indication of the sob-story to come was when Yuan Ni (played by Xu Fan) had to choose between saving her son Fang Da (played by Li Chen) or her daughter Fang Deng (played by Fang Jingchu). Yuan had to made the painful decision which was overheard by Deng, who remained resentful for the next 32 years. Da, who was saved, lost an arm however.

I am not going to dwell too much into the subsequent scenes. Just to cut it short, it was not until Deng - by now married to a Canadian - returned to China as a volunteer in 2008's Sichuan Earthquake that untied this knot in her heart. She was under the impression that her mother hated her and hence, the choice to save her brother over her. However, it was this volunteering experience that gave her such a shock awakening after witnessing the painful decision another mother had to make. So much so that, she reunited with her brother and also in particular, her mother whom she had a grudge against throughout the years. The contrast is interesting here. While one earthquake broke the family apart, another earthquake reunited the family.

I love the film for some reasons. Much like other Chinese films by Zhang Yimou or Chen Kaige, there is always a lot of depth in emotions and the buildup of a character. This is the kind of film that I truly enjoy watching and I think Director Feng and his acting crew have done it exceptionally well in Aftershock. There are plenty of opportunities for me to understand why certain characters behaved in the way they did just by watching the story unfold.

There had been some judgment on Chinese films being too simplistic to be appreciated. Aftershock will prove you wrong certainly. This film, saw the participation of IMAX afterall. I think we need to agree that although this is a disaster film, a disaster film need not necessarily be an action flick as commonly portrayed in Hollywood. Let's also consider the fact that Aftershock set out to explore the various human psychological impacts and relationships rather than running us through a science lesson of how the earth tore up like in Hollywood. In this sense, we needn't see too many rock-and-roll scenes. Not too much, not too little, just enough to let us know what caused the tears and deaths.

Personally, I walked away with some personal lessons to draw from the film but I am going to leave that to a second post after this.

That said, a good film is not without its shortcomings. I remembered how three plots were developing when suddenly, the plots were cut in a split second. The first was when Deng found out she was expecting and vanished from her adopted family. I would much prefer a little preemptive lead-in before she migrated completely. The second came in the form of the introduction of Deng's Canadian husband. I think he appeared on screen for less than two minutes in all. I felt it could have been better done with a mini-introduction of Deng's new life with him. However, that can easily be explain away since he played no significant part in the earthquake.

Lastly, the reconciliation between Deng and her brother who happened to be volunteering at the Sichuan Earthquake as well, seemed too much like an extremely rush job. As though, the film can't wait to say bye to the audience. Given the magnitude of the disaster and the depth of emotional contents, I feel this film can be stretched slightly for a smoother transition between plots. If one did not feel bored sitting in the theater lasting the entire duration of Titanic, I am sure one can survive a slightly longer Aftershock.

Overall, the film was great except for the transition of the plots I mentioned above. Comparing Aftershock with one of Hollywood's recent blockbuster, I think it made 2012 looked shallow. If you have watched the film, I think you would agree the price of the tickets and the time is well worth it. If you haven't, you have up until tomorrow to catch it on the big screen. Alternatively, wait for the DVD to be released. Rest assure, you will not be disappointed by this film.

And please, stand by plenty of tissue.