Add to Wishlist. Back to 1942, however, is a unique project that took them and their team 19 years to complete. More often than not, the noble ambition behind this effort is fulfilled, but it really brings to light the areas in which good intentions are not done the justice they deserve, thus leaving the final product to fall short of its potential under the weight of uneven focus, pacing and subtlety. $6.99 Buy. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Fraught with danger, their trek soon begins to erode the invisible lines separating cultures and classes. The onscreen talent is most certainly there, and it's rich, as most everyone has a time to shine and move as carriers of much of the effectiveness within this important drama, but at the end of the day, in order for the film to reward, director Feng Xiaogang must deliver, and sure enough, in spite of his shortcomings as storyteller, Xiaogang meets every slow spells with an atmospherically kicked up spell, and ever manipulative moment with a genuine piece of dramatic punch that, while never really tear-jerking, compels thoroughly as a height in intrigue that wouldn't stand as firmly as it does without Xiaogang's inspiration, which in turn wouldn't stand as firmly as it does without ambition. Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers. Sure, storytelling is flawed, rich with focal and pacing issues that bloat the final product as kind of aimless, but there's never any denying that there is some considerable potential for an effective drama to this valuable subject matter dealing with the struggles of the oppressed during wartime, as well as the political intrigue surrounding the plots to take action for the sake of the misfortunate, especially when the meat of this important story is firmly brought to life by heights in Liu Zhenyun's script that boast human depth to characterization, which is itself brought to life by inspired performances. Despite its name, “Back to 1942” isn’t in fact a time travel flick, but the latest blockbuster from top Chinese helmer Feng Xiaogang, responsible for recent hits such as “Aftershock” and “The Assembly”. A famine with multiple contributing factors and devastating effects during the Second Sino-Japanese war is chronicled from the official perspective of reporters, generals, politicians and real families whose lives were forever altered by drastic measures they were forced to take in order to survive. and the Terms and Policies, The film could do with more pruning and fewer undeveloped characters. Back to 1942 joins the growing list of international titles soon to be announced. All Critics (11) Sign up here. back to 1942 Synopsis In the midst of the devastation, an American journalist (Adrian Brody) searches for answers, and slowly comes to understand that there may be a greater connection between these tragedies and his political theories than he once thought. There are no approved quotes yet for this movie. No late fees. One of the worst moments in the Chinese history, when the Japanese government attempts to turn the Chinese people away from their government by offering them sustenance, and the Chinese government finds themselves forced to choose between feeding their troops or the masses, was presented the best possible way without offending any of the sides, but the lack of emotional maturity was very evident during the movie - maybe it was done purposely because when you are trying to survive, emotions are not always present, but for me was very odd and unexpected. We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future. It certainly helps that I find this film to be pretty good, though that's not to say that questionable moments in the effects aren't the only thing that challenge your investment in this film. 3/5 - Good. Director Feng Xiaogang follows up his blockbuster real-life … back to 1942 - Rent Movies and TV Shows on DVD and Blu-ray. Back to 1942. Although the primary cause of the famine was a severe drought, it was exacerbated by locusts, windstorms, earthquakes, epidemic disease and the corruption of the ruling Kuomintang government. Don't have an account? All rights reserved. One month free trial! Fan's son died in the process of stopping the bandits. About Back to 1942 In 1942, Henan province was devastated by the most tragic famine in modern Chinese history, resulting in the deaths of at least three million men, women, and children. It is the winter of 1942. Take a look ahead at some of our most anticipated superhero series arriving in 2021 and beyond. Four friends come up with an unusual idea to make some money and have fun doing it. Qin Fen, a funny, honest, single inventor, met a girl called Smiley, who was in agony of her boyfriend's betrayal. The list on this page is for all #1 hit Pop singles for 1942 using proprietary methods. We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your email. TWITTER By Dan Fainaru 2012-11-12T06:51:00+00:00. I think very few...The film is all blood and tear in Chinese history-if you ever read any Chinese history you would know a bit of how the corrupted national party of China ran the country(how they handled the famine) and the history of Japan invaded China (how cold blood of their behaviour against civilians)at the time.To younger people who never experienced war and hunger...please don't expect entertaining plots. Back to 1942 The Henan province disaster was one of the darkest moments in 20th-century Chinese history – a humanitarian crisis first sparked by drought, then compounded by a combination of windstorms, government corruption, and a war with Japan. Officiel Full Length Trailer of Back To 1942 Movie, starring Adrian Brody, Tim Robbins and Fan Xu. A courageous period reconstruction of China's 1942 famine is sometimes stirring, but has trouble connecting emotionally. Back to 1942 This is not an easy film to sit through! | Rating: 2.5/4 China. | Rating: 3.5/5 It is a story about the redemption of three man, a cab driver who never takes credit for helping others, a auxiliary policeman who never asks for promotion even when he risks his life to ... See full summary ». Liu is a famous Chinese writer with many of his novels adapted into TV dramas or films, such as One Sentence Worth Ten Thousand, Chicken Feathers Everywhere, to name just a few. Sure, the dullness, like most everything else the critics are complaining about, isn't as bad as they say, meaning that the coldness in resonance isn't as severe as some might lead you to believe, but there's no denying that this epic stands to pick up the pace if it wishes to establish some sense of great sweep and piercing resonance, rather than spend too much time meditating upon worthy, but aimless material, and do so with only so much subtlety. Although the primary cause of the famine was a severe drought, it was exacerbated by locusts, windstorms, earthquakes, epidemic disease and the corruption of the ruling Kuomintang government. A relatively even-handed account of a famine which killed three million people, but the storytelling is so careful that it fails to build much interest or emotion. Use the HTML below. There is surprisingly little emotional resonance with the well-drawn and acted characters, making it a tiring two and a half hour trek for filmgoers who don't have a stake in the history it recounts. A chronicle of unrelenting misery, sorrow and human degradation that has powerful moments but is hardly uplifting. Disaster movie and war movie in one dramatic realisation of a dark chapter in China's history, Back to 1942 is epic in its intentions and its scope, Chinese epic illuminates a dark chapter in its WWII history. Well, this film didn't do too much better in China, at least compared to "Aftershock", which made ¥665 million, while this film, even with its high profile... in China (Oh yes, and I'm sure you've heard it, roundeye), makes ¥364 million on a ¥210 million budget. Follows the story of a television host who's hidden so much personal and secret information on his phone, that when it gets out, catastrophe strikes. Back to 1942 Still - H 2012. A story centered around a divorced couple living in a southern Chinese city Shenzhen and dealing with the disappearance of their missing son. A group of bandits come and rob the village, eventually burning it down to the ground. A deadly drought in 1942 takes its toll on central China's Henan province during the war against Japan. | Rating: 2/5 Discover something for everyone this month with some choice picks for the best movies and TV to stream in April. Back To 1942. A deadly drought in 1942 takes its toll on central China's Henan province during the war against Japan. history, China Film, |, "Oh no, we gonna rock back to 1942, and then we'll take it higher!" |, November 30, 2012 Coming Soon. Real epic drama with masterful director, excellent acting of great actors, well developed screenplay and characters, and huge emotional vacuum! Coming Soon. Get unlimited DVD Movies & TV Shows delivered to your door with no late fees, ever. A soldier fights to gain recognition for comrades who died during the Chinese Civil War. Two people from Beijing working in Los Angeles whose paths constantly cross in a foreign city attempt to balance work with friendship/love in spite of mounting disasters each time they meet. They traveled to Hokkaido, tried to help Smiley cure her pain in heart, ... See full summary ». Please click the link below to receive your verification email. Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Golden Tomato Awards: Best Movies & TV of 2020. A famine with multiple contributing factors and devastating effects during the Second Sino-Japanese war is chronicled from the official perspective of reporters, generals, politicians and real families whose lives were forever altered by drastic measures they were forced to take in order to survive. Just confirm how you got your ticket. The Henan province disaster was one of the darkest moments in 20th-century Chinese history -- a humanitarian crisis first sparked by drought, then compounded by a combination of windstorms, government corruption, and a war with Japan. Alternately ignoring the dire nature of the famine and its subsequent exodus of millions of people from the Hunen province, and minimizing its devastation to the outside world, the Chinese Nationalist government of the time is one which seems to be over burdened by ongoing war efforts and corruption in the distribution of relief supplies. The image is an example of a ticket confirmation email that AMC sent you when you purchased your ticket. In 1942, Henan Province was devastated by the most tragic famine in modern Chinese history, resulting in the deaths of at least three million men, women and children. Dir: Feng Xiaogang. On the other hand, if you now that the movie about the biggest suffering and not easy scenes to digest will last 2 hours and 26 minutes, it is understandable. 2012. The mediocre, but kind of harsh-seeming consensus, at least by American critics, is that this film is an overblown mess of uneven focus that is too overambitious to be all that compelling, and quite frankly, I don't see where people get this, as I find the film to be pretty tight and thorough on the whole, and yet, I can't say that the critics are entirely inaccurate, because when the film gets overblown, it really loses much in the way of edge and focus, juggling a multitude of subplots generally well, but having moments where it loses track, and with it, focus, resulting in an inconsistency that thins out a sense of general direction for this layered epic, further hurt yet more unevenness. For some reason, I can't help but think that when I see this film's title, or at least that was the cast until I saw that Adrien Brody is in this film, at which point I began to think about how he couldn't catch a break in 1942 as a Polish Jew, and how he's not likely to catch a break as an American journalist in the middle of a conflict between China and Japan, circa 1942. $1.99 Rent. |, November 29, 2012 Man, 210 million of good ol' ching-ching of both a financial and, well, racist nature, and the effects in this film by the most intelligent nation in the world are still not that good, but then again, ¥210 million is probably "Paranormal Activity" in USD, so I'll let it go. Of course, what is done right in this ambitious project is done so well that it ultimately proves to be more recognizable than the shortcomings, which are there, to be sure, but are overpowered by the final product's dramatic value, as well as its artistic value. Scrambling, ... See full summary ». Written by Back to 1942 Synopsis In 1942, Henan Province was devastated by the most tragic famine in modern Chinese history, resulting in the deaths … In the unrelentingly grim “Back to 1942,” the Chinese director Feng Xiaogang uses the classic epic format to explore what happened when war met famine in the Henan Province of China in 1942… Xiaogang clearly wants this film to succeed, and that makes the areas in which Xiaogang does not deliver hard to ignore, yet at the same time, the heart that goes into this project also emphasizes the strengths, of which there are enough to do justice to this important subject matter and make a genuinely compelling dramatic epic. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! If nothing else is being complained about by everyone and their dog, it's a lack of genuineness to this drama, and once again, such a problem isn't as severe as they say, but it nevertheless stands, for although this film isn't quite as manipulative as the still fairly rewarding "Aftershock", director Feng Xiaogang still has a tendency to blow little things like the playing up of Zhao Jiping unevenly used score out of proportion, and overemphasize, say, disturbing imagery and long periods of nothing but filler material of people suffering to get this film's point across, and reflect a certain overambition to the project. Shifting between individual suffering (performed, not felt) and extended political and business deliberations, the pic displays its budget but not its heart. Forgot your password? Arabian Nights: Volume 3 -- The Enchanted One, Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham, Best Netflix Shows and Series To Binge (March 2021), The 100 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now (March 2021), 100 Best Movies on Amazon Prime To Watch (March 2021). A man wakes in a car wreck at the bottom of a ravine must overcome incredible odds to survive. Policy and private life are worlds apart in stopping the devastation shown through the portrayals of those who lived to tell the tale and their accounts of those who were not so lucky, of whom there were many (3 million.) Huayi Brothers Media Group, November 30, 2012 The percentage of Approved Tomatometer Critics who have given this movie a positive review. The action aspects to this war epic are unevenly played upon, and when warfare dramatizations do come into play, dynamicity is, as you can imagine, limited, but the action sequences in this film are still well-worth the wait, being grandly well-staged, with visual effects that are, as I jokingly stated in this article's opener, improvable, but adequately complimentary to the style of the warfare, as surely as the dramatic atmosphere proves to be complimentary to the weight of the warfare. Yi jiu si er (Back to 1942) is the telling of the story of the 1942 famine. It catalogs agony without making you feel it. A well made and serious film you shouldn't miss.Back to 1942!How many movie-goers were born before 1942? 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