Tang shan da di zhen

As i sit here typing up this review, my eyes are sore from the tears shed from watching this stunning film. This is no ordinary documentary like film. The characters are portrayed in a way that establishes a deep connection with the audience, the actors/actresses in this this film were absolutely flawless. The emotions, gestures and dialogue were all perfect.

Apart from complimenting the set, the movie had great computer generated scenes of the devastating effects of the earthquake. This really puts the audiences in a perspective like never before , as u see the people being smashed by boulders and collapsing buildings with people inside.

This movie focuses on the main idea of FAMILY. It shows the bonding of natural disaster victims and the the journey of recovering from the emotional wounds.

This movie was a master piece. I highly recommend it.

As an old white guy I have this knee jerk reaction to resist all things not American. Darn. That said, and considering all the dribble that comes out of Hollywood these days, juxtaposed against this truly wonderful film from China, all I can say is... if this is the kind of stuff they are capable of, "Hollywood, look out". One of the things that makes this movie so compelling is that it is not a "Chinese" story, its a "human" story. While the production and graphics are stellar, its the STORY that steals the show. How many times have we all sat through an hour and a half of incredible (and often gratuitous) graphics with a mediocre story sandwiched in between stuff being blown up. Here the graphics are truly great, but take second place to whats important... the story.

When I bought this movie from Amazon, I believed it to be a disaster movie in the likes of Hollywood movies such as "Volcano", "2012" and such. And the cover and text on the back of the cover didn't really let on to what this movie was, it all just showed something of a typical disaster movie.

So I wasn't prepared for what was ahead. Also because I hadn't done any research of reviews prior to buying (and watching) the movie. So I was in for one big surprise. There are those rare moments when you stumble upon something truly unique by sheer luck, and this was one such moment for me.

"Aftershock" blew me away. This movie is so much more than your average disaster movie. Sure there is a breathtakingly amazing disaster scene early on in the movie. And you just sit there with your hands clenched and biting your lip, because that whole part is so intense and so amazingly shot. It is like you are there right in the midst of the chaos. I will go as far as saying that the earthquake scene in this movie far outshines any of that I have seen in Hollywood disaster movies.

But "Aftershock" is not just a disaster movie, it is also a movie that has a very touching story to tell, a very sad and unfortunate story as well. But it tell its story in a very good way, without being too much. You really get immersed in the story, and it sweeps you off your feet and takes you along on an emotional roller-coaster ride. You might actually want to have some tissue at hand, because there are some very, very emotional scenes in this movie. It is also a story of emotions; a story of how our lives and fates can change in the blink of an eye.

The characters in "Aftershock" are very believable and they are so well portrayed on the screen by the actors and actresses. Each and every of the main characters are given so much room to grown and develop that you really get to feel with them, grow with them, feel their sadness, loss and happiness. And for this, the director was right on the money. This story was so well-told and well-shot that it is hard not to get caught up in the moment.

The 130 minutes that the movie is in length doesn't feel that long, because you get so caught up in the movie. I didn't leave the screen for a single moment. I just sat there mesmerized, wanting to see what happened next, what would happen to Fang Deng, Fang Da and everyone else.

I am a big fan of Asian cinema, though I had never heard about this movie prior to finding it by sheer luck on Amazon. Now that I have seen it, "Aftershock" will stay with me for a long, long time. It was one of the most emotional and honest stories I have had the pleasure of witnessing in a long, long time.

Even if you are not a fan of Asian cinema or have a phobia of watching movies in a foreign language, you should overcome that and do yourself the pleasure of sitting down to watch this movie, because it is really worth it. This movie is truly an amazing one, and it the story is one that deserves to be told.

I watched a subbed version of this movie and the first few minutes remind me of Hollywood sensational movie and I was about to end the viewing. I'm very glad that I did not do it because otherwise I have missed one of the best movies I have watched so far. The emotion just goes up in you until it hit a peaks then it starts going down calmly to have a good ending. Do not let the English title of the movie misleads you, the movie is much much more than about the earthquake or natural disaster itself, it's about the human's nature, how they dealt with difficult situations. The earthquake is just pretext and it can be anything tragic like war, exodus, deportation etc...Remember "Sophie's choice" ?

"god! you BASTARD!" wow... that scene took my breath away. i actually had to snap out of the movie for a second and make myself realize that i'm watching a movie, and its not real! (atleast not for me. but to imagine people actually go through such emotions in times like this makes you feel nauseous.) what an amazing movie! i only saw the 1st hour of it for time restraints... but i cannot wait to finish it. nothing i've seen in recent years compares to this movie. i don't know a word of Chinese, but the acting is just superb. i was reluctant to watch a movie in a language i don't understand, especially reading reviews about it being a "heart-felt" and "touching" movie; i'm so glad i didn't skip this one. brilliant!brilliant! brilliant!