The Wandering Earth could be the film to spark China’s science fiction moviemaking
- The film, starring Wolf Warrior’s Wu Jing, is a sci-fi movie of epic scale that rivals Hollywood blockbusters like Interstellar and Gravity
- Hopes are high that it will inspire more quality Chinese sci-fi blockbusters after a frankly embarrassing line of substandard productions
Laden with an extravaganza of special effects, The Wandering Earth (out in China on February 5) is a Chinese science fiction movie of epic scale that rivals Hollywood space blockbusters like Interstellar and Gravity.
Adapted from the novel of the same name by renowned science fiction author Liu Cixin – the first author from Asia to win best novel at the Hugo sci-fi and fantasy literary awards, for The Three-Body Problem in 2015 – the film has created a large buzz in China, with a series of screenings generating rave reviews.
Movers and shakers in China’s scientific community are singing the film’s praises, saying it heralds a new dawn for Chinese sci-fi cinema.
While China’s movie industry has enjoyed spectacular growth since the country’s opening up 40 years ago, science fiction is a genre that has been left mostly underdeveloped due to huge technical costs and the deep philosophical depth often involved in plots.
Ji Shaoting, co-founder of the Future Affairs Administration, which promotes Chinese science fiction writers and is the film’s official promoter, told ifeng.com last year that many Chinese TV and movie companies eager to make science fiction productions lack basic understanding of the genre.