The competition between the US and China has comfortably moved into the cinema space as well. Good news for the Chinese film audience comes in the form of the latest theatrical release The Wandering Earth, which, by the looks of its teaser trailer, will literally take this rivalry to a whole new playing field: outside the solar system, so to say.
The Wandering Earth functions on a premise that film buffs are au fait with. A bleak future, dying humanity, a few courageous soldiers, cutting-edge technology and the over utilised hook: all preparations are bound to encounter systematic flaw. However, The Wandering Earth does have a never-seen-before element in its storyline. The Earth, as we know it, is being lifted into another solar system. Whoa!
The film looks highly stylized, at par with Hollywood standards; even beyond, at times. Starring actor-director Wu Jing, The Wandering Earth is adapted from Liu Cixin’s eponymous short story that was published in 2000.
Liu is a popular name in the literary circuit in China and beyond. He became the first Chinese writer to win the Hugo Award in 2015 for The Three Body Problem. He is also a multiple time Galaxy Award winner. His works are well researched and based on scientific accuracy. One look at The Wandering Earth and you get the feeling that translating Liu’s work into cinema is a difficult task, both financially and technologically, for any filmmaker. The challenge, however, comes with its opportunities and director Frant Gwo seems to have shown his true mettle.
Hollywood has been acknowledging China’s space exploration endeavours in films like The Martian. It remains to be seen how it welcomes a formidable looking opponent in the genre content. The Wandering Earth will open to a limited release outside China in countries like the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand this week. Since sci-fi films in Beijing are still in their emerging stage, Bollywood surely can take cue.
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