Sci-fi tale of fight to save humanity is wowing world
CHINA’S homegrown sci-fi blockbuster “The Wandering Earth” scored at the holiday box office.
It visual effects, considered equal to anything Hollywood can produce, and its plot of humanity united to face calamity has proven popular.
The New York Times quoted Director Guo Fan as saying that he consciously avoided making a Chinese actor a do-it-alone superhero.
“The fight to save Earth is fought instead by an ensemble, including an affable Russian cosmonaut,” said the newspaper.
It added that the film “has a vision of the international collaboration necessary to cope with the threats facing the planet.”
“Jingoism” is a label “The Wandering Earth” rids itself of.
The film is set in the near future, the Sun is aging and about to turn into a red giant, pushing the United Earth Government to consolidate into a world government and initiate a project to move the Earth out of the Solar System, and travel to the Alpha Centauri system, to preserve human civilization.
At the center 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,” Scott Mendelson, a senior contributor to Forbes, wrote 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 to save Earth.
It shows the Chinese characters “eagerly cooperate with an international force of largely nameless heroes,” said a popular user review on imdb.com, an online film database. “It’s another reminder that in this depressing future, even the Chinese strength cannot succeed alone.”
Tasha Robinson, a film critic at the Verge, added: “The film puts a strong focus on collective global action, on the need for international cooperation, and for the will of the group over the will of the individual.”
“The Wandering Earth” has earned more than 1.94 billion yuan (US$288 million) in box office sales as of yesterday, according to Maoyan, a professional box office tracker.
“As China gets into the action-blockbuster business, it’ll continue to be fascinating to see how the country brings its own distinctive voices and talents into a global market,” added Robinson.
“Once every country is making would-be international crossovers, the strongest appeal may come from the most distinctive, personal visions with the most to say about the cultures they come from.”
(Xinhua)