Aftershocks (Tangshan dadizhen) (2010)

90% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
86% of users liked it
(4,352 ratings)

Two natural disasters frame a story of a mother, her children and a painful decision that scars them forever in this grand-scale drama from China. In 1976, Li Yuanni (Xu Fan) is living in the city of Tangshan with her two children, seven year old twins Fang Da and Fang Deng. The family's life is… More Two natural disasters frame a story of a mother, her children and a painful decision that scars them forever in this grand-scale drama from China. In 1976, Li Yuanni (Xu Fan) is living in the city of Tangshan with her two children, seven year old twins Fang Da and Fang Deng. The family's life is simple but full of joy until a massive earthquake levels the city and leaves a swath of destruction in its wake. Amidst the wreckage, Li Yuanni discovers both Fang Da and Fang Deng are caught under a concrete slab, and if enough is broken to rescue one of the children, it would tip the balance and crush the other. Li Yuanni is asked which child should be saved, and she impulsively answers her son Fang Da. The boy is rescued, but the effort costs him his arm; meanwhile, the daughter Fang Deng is left for dead but miraculously survives, and is eventually adopted by another family without Li Yuanni's knowledge. The mother is forced to live with the shame of her decision, Fang Da grows to be a physically and emotionally broken man, and Fang Deng studies medicine, starts a family on her own and leaves China for Canada. It's not until 2008 that the story of the mother and the daughter she lost comes full circle in the wake of another earthquake in Sichuan. A massive commercial success in China, Tang Shan Da Di Zhen (aka Aftershock) made its North American debut at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 8 min.
Directed By: Xiaogang Feng
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Oct 29, 2010 Limited
On DVD: Dec 27, 2010
Studio: China Film Group

Critic Reviews

Mike Hale, New York Times
The film may be a blunt instrument, but it's rarely maudlin -- the exception being the performance of Mr. Feng's wife, Fan Xu, as the long-suffering mother -- and is, on occasion, quite moving.
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
[An] involving, well-acted saga of a family torn apart by a devastating earthquake...
Simon Kinnear, Total Film
Mimics the worst of Hollywood's excesses, pairing gratuitous shock with patriotism and a flood of tear-jerking moments calculated for awards bodies' consideration.
Henry Fitzherbert, Daily Express
Aftershock is a gruelling and sombre watch, occasionally over-wrought and melodramatic, yet an absorbing and thought-provoking insight into the consequences of human catastrophe.
Christopher Tookey, Daily Mail [UK]
It's schlock, but on such a grand scale that it's quite fun to allow yourself to be carried along on its tsunami of emotion.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
There's no doubt about it: this film's an unashamed heart-wringer and a tear-jerker, but it packs an almighty punch and the CGI work at the very beginning, as Tangshan crumbles into nothingness, is impressive and pretty scary.
David Jenkins, Time Out
Perfect hokum for those who don't mind having their heart strings strummed like a banjo.
Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews
A very old-fashioned but stirring movie about family values, but not in the debased sense found on the Republican Party right. A gateway into the tastes and values of Chinese society unlike the typical Chinese film export geared to Western audiences.
Clay Cane, BET.com
With nuanced performances, each moment rips with cinematic humanity.
Sean Axmaker, Parallax View
... a crowd pleaser to be sure, but a respectful one.

Read all 10 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Dead A

A really heart breaking movie. Performance of each character was really good. Made me sad to tell you the truth.
familiar s

Tángsh?n Dàdìzhèn (aka "Aftershock" or "Aftershocks"), dedicated to 240,000 victims of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, claims to commemorate the rebirth and restoration of Tangshan. Now if only (presumably) good intentions were quite enough to make a good movie...… More
Tángsh?n Dàdìzhèn (aka "Aftershock" or "Aftershocks"), dedicated to 240,000 victims of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, claims to commemorate the rebirth and restoration of Tangshan. Now if only (presumably) good intentions were quite enough to make a good movie... Aftershock has a script that's not just been-there-seen-it-all one, but also a bit too messy. The movie works neither on personal account of any of the individual characters nor as a whole. Despite being stuffed with heavily emotional sequences, it failed to make me feel sympathetic enough to care for any of the characters, let alone bring a lump in my throat or shed a tear. With all due respect for the victims of the earthquake, this emotional drama (not a docu-drama) doesn't do justice to a movie-viewer. The actors seem competitive, but they could have succeeded in saving the shaky script only that far. I don't find "Tángsh?n Dàdìzhèn" recommendable enough, but being aware of my taste (which happens to fall in minority more often than not) I won't be shocked if you do. To start with, just look at the critical response it has received. It's not awful; it's just that it fell short of my expectations.
Alireza M

It's surprising that still in the year 2010 some directors use some poor and out dated ideas for making a movie.Aftershocks, Despite of its expensive look is a sentimental trash.
Chihoe H

What a tearjerker! I watched it at TIFF and you could hear sniffles in the huge theatre throughout the movie. Centering around the Tangshan Earthquake, a family of four is torn apart changing their lives forever. The simulated earthquake scenes were very realistic and heartbreaking,… More
What a tearjerker! I watched it at TIFF and you could hear sniffles in the huge theatre throughout the movie. Centering around the Tangshan Earthquake, a family of four is torn apart changing their lives forever. The simulated earthquake scenes were very realistic and heartbreaking, and the emotions from the aftershock is performed brilliantly by the cast. Chinese nationalistic and family values are essentially captured by the country's and the survivors' responses. There is an obvious weak link which I will not get into but this movie moves you and I bet you will need a tissue with you.
Hal M

This movie starts out well but goes on way too long, with excessive intended tear-wringing. Looking over some reviews by the femmes I see they're applauding it precisely to the degree it made them repeatedly sob. But I'm a man's man type. Sure, I can work up some… More
This movie starts out well but goes on way too long, with excessive intended tear-wringing. Looking over some reviews by the femmes I see they're applauding it precisely to the degree it made them repeatedly sob. But I'm a man's man type. Sure, I can work up some tears now and again for a movie but my tear ducts just don't flow rivers...in fact I get downright impatient when filmmakers keep trying to work them...