Feng Xiaogang is one of the most popular directors in China these days, especially after his film Aftershock shattered the Chinese box office upon release. It seems that he really enjoys making dramas based on very tragic events, first it was the great earthquake of 1976 and now he’s got one based on the most tragic and deadly famine in recent Chinese history titled Back to 1942. The two hour and 25 minute wartime drama stars Fan Xu, Zhang Guoli, Adrien Brody, Chen Daoming and Tim Robbins.
“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. 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.” Back to 1942 chronicles the lives of a few refugees as they battle through harsh weather conditions, starvation, Japanese attacks and the Chinese Army in order to survive. It also gives us a look at the perspectives from an outsider(Time Magazine writer) and those of government officials trying to balance their humanity and jobs with what they feel is necessary for their country to defeat the Japanese .
One of the film’s biggest flaws, and the likely reason for my aforementioned disengagement, is the fact that it focuses on too many characters and stories. If it limited the amount of character story arcs which would have resulted in a shaved down runtime, it might have been able to pull the audience in and allow us to see this as a tragic character piece about the common folk and the government during a depressing and soul sucking period.
Though it may be one of the many tragic occurrences that have occurred in China during WWII, I felt compassionate out of obligation rather than compassionate through engagement. What I mean by that statement is that the film doesn’t really pull you in except for a few brief moments during the third act. I never felt truly engaged with the picture or emotionally connected; rather I was watching a polished yet gritty History Channel film about a death march with various perspectives thrown into the mix to give us a well rounded view of what happened during that harsh time. The third act is the strongest part of the film and it’s too bad that the rest of the picture couldn’t be as gripping as things continued to fall apart for all of our leads.
Despite all of this, Back to 1942 most certainly has some strong attributes, namely the production value, its historical significance and the emotional performances by its cast. The film looks fantastic a
nd was cut really well but it’s the effects, both CG and practical, that truly impressed me during the scenes when the Japanese were dropping bombs on both the refugees and the soldiers. It shows that China has come a long way in this aspect now that serious directors have really serious budgets.
Furthermore, the acting was impressive all around but Zhang Guoli (Lanlord Fan), Li Peiji (Governor Li) and Adrien Brody (who played the Times journalist) really killed it with Zhang Mo (Shuanzhu) delivering a strong performance and Chen Daoming doing a fairly good job as Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for Tim Robbins whose attempt at playing an Italian priest was rather funny because of his unfitting Italian accent.
Though the movie doesn’t sit well with me in terms of being a compelling feature, I do think it serves as a fantastic history lesson for those unfamiliar with this specific event in Chinese history. Similar to films like Flowers of War and City of Life and Death (which is fantastic), this dramatization of events has a fantastic cast, great production value and a fascinating story sitting there, but unlike City of Life and Death, Back to 1942 fails to convince the audience emotionally how horrible things were, rather it paints a soulless picture which we are supposed to nod in agreement with.
Rating: Wonderfully acted and beautiful dreary but lacks the emotional connection and engaging power that’s required in a historical drama such as this (5.4/10)
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