As blockbuster likely heralds new dawn for China’s sci-fi filmmaking, story of unity gets attention
China’s homegrown scifi blockbuster scored at the holiday box office.
As its visual effects, considered to rival Hollywood, impress a global audience, a united human community when facing calamity as in the film too gets attention. The quoted Director Guo Fan in an article as saying that he consciously avoided making one main character, a Chinese astronaut aboard an international space station who has to contend with a HAL-like computer, a do-it-alone superhero.
“The fight to save Earth is fought instead by an ensemble, including an affable Russian cosmonaut,” said the newspaper, adding that the film “has a vision of the international collaboration necessary to cope with the threats facing the planet.” is a label rids itself of, the added.
Mankind, in is threatened by a dying, swelling sun, hence a generations-long space journey of them to look for a new one. At the centre of the story are a Chinese astronaut and his emotionally estranged son, who join a global mission to prevent Earth from crashing into Jupiter.
“It’s patriotic without being sensationally nationalistic,” wrote Scott Mendelson, a senior contributor to in a recent review. As Hollywood has set rules and rivals follow, the film makes sure “to do its own thing.” When the film nears its end, an international force comes to a Chinese team’s aid at the last minute and gives a final try to save earth.
It shows the Chinese characters “eagerly co-operate with an international force of largely nameless heroes,” said a popular user review on an online film database.
has gained more than 1.8 billion yuan (about FJ$569.43bn) in box office sales as of Sunday, according to Maoyan, a professional box office tracker.
Xinhua