Aftershock (唐山大地震) (2010)

Over the past 15 years, China's independent directors seem unable or unwilling to follow up on their social satires, realist peasant commentaries, or feudal allegories - switching to mainstream, even propagandist fare.

Feng Xiaogang seems to buck this trend with a disaster movie, in spite of generous funding and support from state organs, and a narrative that would have pulled a lesser, lazier director towards propaganda, melodrama, or sentimentality.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 28 July 2010.