I don't know what made me ignore
Aftershock (2010) or even what finally prompted me to add it to my Netflix list. I've enjoyed many modern Chinese films, particularly those of Zhang Zimou, who is equally adept at action and drama.
Aftershock is about the effects of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which killed 240,000. The CGI of the devastation is harrowing, depicting nature doing what it too often does, butchering indiscriminately. The film then evolves to a saga that spans 32 years, focusing on a family of four. The hopes and dreams of human beings are the same throughout the world, despite who governs them. I have not been so moved by a film since
The Book Thief (2013). The events are gut-wrenching, the emotions raw. The themes are sacrifice, duty, mistakes, love, the sanctity of life and, ultimately, forgiveness. The cast, entirely unfamiliar to me, is magnificent. Kudos to director Xiaogang Feng and screenwriter Wu Si, who adapted the narrative from the novel by Ling Zhang - and pulled no punches. The key scene ignited my water works. It's as powerful as any ever shot. The film's only flaw is that it's a bit too long, running 2:15. It contains elements of
Sophie's Choice (1982) and, at the end,
Schindler's List (1993), an actual survivor standing in the massive graveyard, captions revealing his history in brief. I was drained at the finish. Although
Aftershock was not nominated for an Oscar, it received many awards outside the USA. It was even a success at the box office, returning $100+ million on a budget of $25 million. 7800+ users at IMDb have rated it, forging to a consensus of 7.6 on a scale of ten, way too low in my estimation. I rate it nine. If it isn't a masterpiece, it's as close to one as a work of art gets. It isn't a disaster epic. It's a story about humanity and its amazing resilience. Politics is restricted to the heroic light in which the People's Liberation Army is cast for its relief efforts. The city has since been rebuilt. Unfortunately, as the script brings out, the dead cannot be brought back. Here's a still:
Here's the man of the hour, 99 year-old Phil Coyne, who has retired from his 81-year stint as an usher at Pittsburgh Pirates games. He began at Forbes Field in 1936 and worked an estimated 6000 games. A recent fall made it impossible for him to continue. Here's a pic. It's good to see the front office treat him like family:
Danny stood in for Ira today at the floating book shop, continuing its good luck. Although I see him only a few times a year, he treats me like family, buying in bulk, 99% of it non-fiction. This afternoon he added the entire box of CD's I had on display, about 15 in all. Retired from the MTA, he's working on making a film. Good luck, sir, and thank you. To show how dumb my luck has been this week, Ralph, who also treats me like family, showed and immediately spotted
Weird Kentucky, which I expected to be shunned for months, if not years. Turns out he has an uncle living there, and intends to mail the book to him. My thanks, and to all the other kind folks who made purchases on yet another day of below average temperatures. At least it didn't rain or snow.
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