Back to 1942
Back to 1942

Watch Back to 1942 Online Free

- 69/100 based on 3,611 votes
  • Released: 2012
  • Runtime: 145 mins
  • Director:
  • Studio: China Film Group Corporation
  • Genres: War - Drama

A famine with multiple contributing factors and devastating effects during the Second Sino-Japanese war is chronicled from the official perspective of reporters, generals, politicians and real families whose lives were forever altered by drastic measures they were forced to take in order to survive. Alternately ignoring the dire nature of the famine and its subsequent exodus of millions of people from the Hunen province, and minimizing its devastation to the outside world, th... (Full plot summary below)

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Actors in Back to 1942:

Zhang Guoli
Xu Fan
Zhang Mo
Zhang Hanyu
Chen Daoming
Adrien Brody

Full Plot Details

A famine with multiple contributing factors and devastating effects during the Second Sino-Japanese war is chronicled from the official perspective of reporters, generals, politicians and real families whose lives were forever altered by drastic measures they were forced to take in order to survive. Alternately ignoring the dire nature of the famine and its subsequent exodus of millions of people from the Hunen province, and minimizing its devastation to the outside world, the Chinese Nationalist government of the time is one which seems to be over burdened by ongoing war efforts and corruption in the distribution of relief supplies. Policy and private life are worlds apart in stopping the devastation shown through the portrayals of those who lived to tell the tale and their accounts of those who were not so lucky, of whom there were many (3 million.) This is a true story based upon Liu Zhenyun's novel "Remembering 1942," Zhenyun himself is the descendant of a survivor of the 1942 famine and his family story is poignantly portrayed--showing heroism, self sacrifice, terrible misfortune and ultimate survival of the lucky few.

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Movie Reviews

sbs.com.au - 7/10 by Don GrovesChinese epic illuminates a dark chapter in its WWII history
Washington Post - 6/10 by Mark JenkinsIt's a grim tale, and Back to 1942 doesn't pretend otherwise.
ReelTalk Movie Reviews - 6/10 by Donald J. LevitThe film could do with more pruning and fewer undeveloped characters.
Slant Magazine - 5/10 by James SpillaneIn painting a large-scale tableaux of the Henan disaster, Feng Xiaogang has inevitably been forced to sacrifice the specificity and focus on individual characterization that are generally so important for allowing the viewer a point of entry into such an important piece of history.
The Hollywood Reporter - 5/10 by Deborah YoungThere is surprisingly little emotional resonance with the well-drawn and acted characters, making it a tiring two and a half hour trek for filmgoers who don't have a stake in the history it recounts.
Variety - 5/10 by Jay WeissbergShifting between individual suffering (performed, not felt) and extended political and business deliberations, the picture displays its budget but not its heart.
Toronto Star - 5/10 by Bruce DemaraA chronicle of unrelenting misery, sorrow and human degradation that has powerful moments but is hardly uplifting.
New York Times - 4/10 by Neil GenzlingerIt catalogs agony without making you feel it.
Los Angeles Times - 4/10 by Sheri LindenDirector Feng Xiaogang captures the epic scale of the exodus as well as the often-harrowing details, yet emotional connection proves more elusive.
User Review - 10/10 by Philip JThis movie is rated 40% here simply because most critics lack the capability to appreciate the film's true value. How much a viewer can get out of this 'movie' is purely up to the viewer's personal knowledge about China. If a viewer have sufficient knowledge about China, this piece is a priceless treasure that worth watching over and over with new insights discovered each time. Unfortunately this means not even many of the 'Chinese people' living on this planet nowadays would appreciate this film, let along other non-Chinese people. It saddens me to see this 200% film gets rated 40% here, however knowing this film is a diamond, rather than a tomato, dampens the sad feeling.

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