Will smash hit 'The Wandering Earth' change China's film industry?
(CNN)Millions of moviegoers watched breathlessly over the Lunar New Year week as Beijing and Shanghai were destroyed for the first time in modern Chinese film history. It's just one of the reasons China's new sci-fi movie "The Wandering Earth" is taking the nation by storm.
Based on works by novelist Liu Cixin, it tells the story of a group of Chinese astronauts working to save Earth from a dying and rapidly expanding sun. Opening on February 5, the film made about $405 million ($2.7 billion yuan) in just over its first week in China alone -- putting it on track to become the country's most successful film of all time.
Reaction has been startling. "I didn't expect China could make such a large-scale science-fiction film," said one of the top comments on Chinese film review site Douban.com. State-run news agency Xinhua, meanwhile, described it as a "new dawn for China's sci-fi filmmaking."
Director Guo Fan says "The Wandering Earth" has been so popular because it has human emotions at its core. "I made the lead role (played by Wu Jing) in memory of my father," Guo told CNN.
"It tells the story of a typical Chinese father's love. It's always forbearing and without too many words, but it's so powerful. That's my understanding of a father's love."
In another sign of its unique appeal, authorities allowed the creators to portray the destruction of Beijing and Shanghai -- the first time a Chinese-made film has been allowed to do so."I liked watching sci-fi films when I was very young. One of the major reasons that I wanted to be a director was because I wanted to make sci-fi films. So this film is a process of realizing my dream," Guo added.
Future of Chinese cinema
China is likely to become the world's largest cinema market in coming years, according to industry insiders.It already has a robust multi-billion-dollar film industry which produces hundreds of movies every year, mainly for a large and increasingly affluent domestic audience.
But some of the country's biggest recent blockbusters have been criticized as overly nationalistic, effectively acting as government propaganda. Its two most successful box-office hits -- "Wolf Warrior 2" and "Operation Red Sea" -- were considered to have strong pro-Beijing overtones. Guo's effort, however, breaks the mould. "There is little nationalistic plot in 'The Wandering Earth'," Chinese film critic Raymond Zhou told CNN.
Other Chinese films have been criticized for their poor quality compared to big-budget US productions.
In 2018, the $112 million effort "Asura" was pulled from cinemas after it comprehensively flopped amid scathing reviews. But Zhou believes the success of "The Wandering Earth," which has received positive reviews, could create a "new popular genre" of Chinese filmmaking.
Certainly, Chinese audiences can expect more sci-fi. University of Macau film expert Tan See Kam said "The Wandering Earth" had broken a trend for Chinese New Year releases, which were traditionally almost entirely either comedies or action movies. Building of the success of "The Wandering Earth," more sci-fi projects are in the works. "Shanghai Fortress," about a major alien invasion, and intergalactic adventure "Pathfinder" are both expected to be released in 2019. "'The Wandering Earth' is about to become a legend in the Chinese film industry," Tan said.
Soft power win?
Yet while it has broken barriers domestically, overseas success is not assured. Mainland China's film industry has historically struggled to produce blockbusters which resonate with international viewers.
In 2016, "The Mermaid" became one of the country's most successful films, raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in China. During a US release it barely cleared $3 million. In comparison, US films often perform strongly in China. "The Fate of the Furious" is the country's sixth highest-grossing film of all time, taking in about $380 million.
"The Wandering Earth opened in selected international cinemas on February 8. "In terms of digital effects, China's production has not reached the (US) level and then in terms of storylines they're very China-based, of course," said Pang Laikwan, professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
"And then there is a tremendous amount of censorship, so there are very few things that filmmakers can say."Film expert Tan said Chinese government officials, movie producers and critics were likely to be watching "The Wandering Earth" closely to see if it broke that overseas trend. "I can't see why the Chinese government wouldn't want to encourage this sort of film," he said. "It'll be interesting to see how well this film travels abroad."
Director Guo believes China still has a way to go before it can compete internationally with western studios."(But this film) makes more investors see the possibility of mainstream Chinese films, that they can be profitable. And more and more investors will believe in these films," he added.
难点注释
注释：
1. smash hit爆红影片
2. Wandering Earth流浪地球
3. filmgoer常看电影者
4. breathlessly屏息凝神地
5. lunar农历的
6. destroy摧毁
7. sci-fi科幻的
8. take... by storm席卷，横扫
9. novelist小说家
10. astronaut宇航员 /'æstrənɔːt/
11. expand膨胀，扩展
12. put sth on track 使某事步入正轨
13. of all time有史以来，史上
14. reaction反响
15. startling惊人的
16. large-scale大规模的
17. science-fiction科幻作品的
18. top comment置顶评论
19. film review site影评网站
20. Douban.com豆瓣
21. state-run国营的
22. news agency新闻社
23. meanwhile同时
24. describe描述
25. dawn开端
26. filmmaking制片
27. director导演
28. emotion情感
29. at one's core在某事的核心
30. lead role主角
31. in memory of为纪念...
32. CNN美国有线电视新闻网络（Cable News Network）
33. typical典型的
34. forbearing有耐心的 /fɔː'beərɪŋ/
35. sign证据,证明
36. unique /juː'niːk/ 独特的
37. appeal吸引力
38. authority当局
39. creator创造者，此指导演
40. portray /pɔː'treɪ/描写
41. destruction摧毁
42. process（为达到某一目标的）过程；进程/ `prɑses /
43. realize实现
44. add补充说
45. industry insider业内人士
46. robust /rə(ʊ)'bʌst/强劲的；富有活力的
47. multi-billion-dollar价值数十亿美元的
48. affluent富裕的 /'æflʊənt/
49. domestic国内的
50. audience观众
51. recent最近的
52. blockbuster大片
53. criticize批评
54. overly过度地 /'əʊvəlɪ/
55. nationalistic民族主义的/,næʃnə'lɪstɪk/
56. effectively有效地
57. propaganda宣传 /'prɑpə'gændə/
58. box-office hit热门电影
59. Wolf Warrior 2 《战狼2》
60. Operation Red Sea《红海行动》，情节以也门撤侨,保护中国侨民为背景。
61. pro-Beijing亲中国政府的
62. overtone言外之意；暗示/'əʊvətəʊn/
63. break the mold打破模式
64. plot情节
65. critic评论家
66. Raymond Zhou--双语作家、文化评论人、影评人周黎明
67. compared to ...与...相比较
68. big-budget投资大、制作成本高的
69. production电影、戏剧或广播节目
70. effort努力的结果；成就
71. Asura投资7.5亿的《阿修罗》，史上最烧钱中国电影，其票房扑街。/'a:surə/
72. pull拔出；抽出 此指下架
73. comprehensively完全地；彻底地
74. flop彻底失败
75. amid在...之间
76. scathing严厉指责的 /'skeɪðɪŋ/
77. positive积极的
78. genre电影体裁，类型 /'ʒɑnrə/
79. Macau澳门
80. expert专家
81. Tan See Kam陈时鑫(澳门大学传播系教授)
82. trend趋势
83. release新发行的东西；（尤指）新激光唱片，新电
84. traditionally传统上
85. entirely完全地
86. comedy /'kɑmədi/ 喜剧
87. action movie动作片
88. build success 逐步取得成功
89. project项目
90. in the works--in process of preparation, development, or completion正在制作中
91. Shanghai Fortress上海堡垒，科幻片/'fɔrtrəs/
92. alien 外星人
93. invasion入侵
94. intergalactic星系际的/ˌɪntəɡəˈlæktɪk/
95. adventure冒险
96. Pathfinder《开拓者》
97. release v.发行
98. legend传奇
99. soft power软实力
100. barrier障碍
101. domestically在国内
102. overseas海外的
103. assured必将发生的；确定的
104. mainland China中国大陆
105. historically 历史上地
106. struggle努力
107. resonate with sb与……共鸣 /'rez(ə)neɪt/
108. viewer观众
109. The Mermaid/'mɜːmeɪd/ 《美人鱼》，周星驰执导的喜剧、奇幻、爱情类电影
110. rake in轻易地大捞 (钱财)
111. hundreds of millions of数以亿计的
112. barely刚好；不超过（某个数量、年龄、时间等）
113. clear获利；净赚
114. in comparison相比之下 /kəm'pærɪs(ə)n/
115. perform表演
116. furious-猛烈的；高速的
117. The Fate of the Furious《速度与激情》系列电影，美国环球影业发行
118. highest-grossing票房最高的 /grəʊs/
119. take in收入
120. selected挑选出来的
121. in terms of在…方面
122. digital effect数字效果
123. storyline故事情节
124. China-based立足中国的
125. Chinese University of Hong Kong香港中文大学
126. tremendous /trɪ'mendəs/巨大的
127. censorship审查制度
128. filmmaker导演或制片人
129. producer制片人
130. closely紧密地
131. break the trend打破这种趋势
132. encourage鼓励
133. travel abroad出国旅行，此指海外上映
134. have a way to go有一段路程要走
135. compete竞争
136. studio电影制片厂
137. investor投资者
138. possibility可能性
139. mainstream主流的
140. profitable有利可图的
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