China has entered the cinematic space race. The Wandering Earth, the country's first blockbuster sci-fi, is on track to be one of the most successful films in China's history.
Set in the distant future, the governments of the Earth, faced with destruction from an unstable sun, have strapped thrusters (助推器) onto the planet, carrying it out into the universe in search of a new home. But as the Earth approaches the Jupiter, something goes wrong in the system puts it on course to crash into the planet. Therefore, countless people have come forward to face the challenge and save the Earth.
The film is seen by some as the dawn of Chinese sci-fi—a field that has long been dominated by Hollywood.
China is already home to a thriving science and speculative fiction literary scene. The Wandering earth is based on the work of Liu Cixin, the author of the Three-Body Problem series and the first Chinese author to win a Hugo Award, "The Wandering earth fills the gap in Chinese sci-fi movies. It means that China's sci-fi movies have officially set sail," one fan of the film wrote on Douban.
China's film market is expected to overtake the US as the world's largest by 2022, but there is still a long way to go. The main difference between Chinese and US audience is trust. "Building trust between producers investors and the audience is the biggest challenge here. Not so many people have faith in a Chinese sci-fi movie." said Liu. the author of the novel.
Some noted that unlike many Chinese blockbusters, The Wandering earth dials back on the patriotism. Rescue teams from around the world scramble to get the thrusters back up and running. A Russian soldier sacrifices his life to help a Chinese colleague.
"This is not a patriotic film but a film about humans saving themselves," one reviewer said.
