‘The fury of the mountain’: Earthquake in the village

After becoming the leading film industry of 2020 and continuing it into 2021 (despite the reign of ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ and the return of major Hollywood productions), China tries to broaden its horizons by distributing its blockbusters in the international market. Although there had been attempts before, these have been reduced to platforms, with titles like ‘Wolf Warrior’ or ‘The Wandering Earth’ being launched on Netflix or in failed co-productions, as in the case of ‘The Great Wall’. But now the Asian giant wants to consolidate its position. After the premiere of the propaganda “The Battle of Lake Changjin”, now comes “The Fury of the Mountain”.

Unlike “The Battle of Lake Changjin”, ‘The fury of the mountain’ chooses to bring the archetypes of disaster films. After a tidal wave in the Indian Ocean, the aftershocks reach a Chinese town in the middle of the mountains. The film shows how the earthquake endangers not only an entire city, but also the tunnel that will connect the region with the metropolis risks collapsing and destroying a ten-year project that is about to end. Different situations that know how to quickly put the public in a situation.

This is one of the merits of a film that knows how to create an atmosphere of danger from the very beginning, thanks also to a choral plot in which it divides its protagonists.that allow us to see the extent of the catastrophe. Recover part of the essence of the cinema of this sub-genre of the 70s, in particular ‘Earthquake’the cult film by Mark Robson, in the spirit of ’90s popcorn films, such as’ Volcano’ or ‘A Town Called Dante’s Peak’. Thanks to the charisma of its actors, of which in particular, Huang Zhi Zhong and Zhu Yi-long stand outwho play a father and son whose reunion has a background that gives the film an unexpected depth in this type of feature film.

A film that is saved from catastrophe by its main actors

Though ‘Mountain Fury’ knows how to keep the public on alert until almost its final resolution, it has several flaws typical of Chinese blockbusters. The first is that it has visual effects not as good as a 2021 production. As happened with the aforementioned “The Battle of Lake Changjin”, they are too obvious, which is surprising, given that the Chinese manufacture has already shown that it can create titles at the pinnacle of Hollywood’s technical level with the aforementioned ‘The Wandering Earth’. Then, of course, we must not forget that the film directed by Li Jun, who wrote the screenplay together with Zhang Ji, has it a propaganda tone very similar to that of the war film that was about to become the highest-grossing film last year.

Well, despite having heroic protagonists in the purest style Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise or Dwayne Johnson, the moment cannot be missing when it is remembered that every action must be approved by the communist government of Xi Jinping and that this is the only safeguard for the protection of the people. Messages that get involved fully and without subtleties in its second part, with patriotic children’s songs included. Of course, this allows us to see how far the Asian giant’s film industry propaganda machine can go.

Similar to what happens with the Turkish soap opera phenomenon, “The Fury of the Mountain” is an exercise in whitening an authoritarian government, even if at least it has the merit of telling a story of catastrophes that meet the minimum requirements to be seen in commercial cinemas. Thanks above all to a first part that keeps the audience in suspense and to some actors dedicated to their roles.

Note: 6

The best: Its first part and the plot of the characters of Huang Zhi Zhong and Zhu Yi-long.

Worse: His special effects are more typical of the 2000s and the dangerous propaganda message he leaves at the end.