Director Feng Xiaogang is poised to bring audience to tears this summer in China's major blockbuster film
Aftershock. Budgeted at somewhere between $10-25 million, the disaster drama is based on the
1976 Tangshan earthquake that claimed the lives of atleast 240,000 people and severely injured a further 164,000, making the tragedy the largest earthquake of the 20th century by death toll. It deals with the heartbreaking fallout between a mother (Fan Xu) and her quake surviving daughter (Jingchu Zhang) and their eventual reconciliation. Media Asia has debuted the first trailer which in actuality is really more of a clip featuring a little girl waking up amidst of the corpses and devastation.
When a mother is informed by the rescue team that, as her 7-year old twins are buried under the debris close to each other, digging one out would result in further collapse of the wreckage on the other, she is forced to make the most difficult decision of her life. As the clock ticked away, she finally ended her struggle and chose to save the boy, and though heartbroken, she had no idea her decision was overheard by the daughter. Deemed as a dead person, the little girl miraculously survived and was rescued after being buried under for days. Suffering from the emotional shock of the disaster and the painful memory of her mother's choice, she refused to reveal whom she was. She was adopted by a young couple and later moved to the US, but shadowed by the traumatic experience from her childhood, she forever remained emotionally closed up.
When the Sichuan earthquake takes over 80,000 lives in 2008, she volunteers to join the rescue team and returns to her homeland, China. As she witnesses the tribulations people go through when a natural disaster takes place, she finally unlocks the pain she had felt all these years and finds forgiveness. She finally reunites with the mother and twin brother she had parted from after 32 years. A human drama about finding forgiveness, 'Aftershock' depicts not only the fatal tragedy that is brought on by a natural disaster of great levels, but also the strength and courage that is demonstrated when we are in face of extreme and devastating situations.
Aftershock is set for release in IMAX theaters across China on July 28th. You'll find the trailer with English subtitles embedded below.