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Back to 1942

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36% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 63% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
The fortunes of a well-off Chinese landlord (Zhang Guoli) fall to ruin, as a devastating famine holds the country in its grip in 1942.

Critics Reviews

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Mark Jenkins Washington Post 11/30/2012
2.5/4
"Back to 1942" shows the director's mastery of chaotic spectacle, massed human motion and elegant camera movements. Go to Full Review Sheri Linden Los Angeles Times 11/29/2012
2/5
Director Feng Xiaogang captures the epic scale of the exodus as well as the often-harrowing details, yet emotional connection proves more elusive. Go to Full Review Bruce DeMara Toronto Star 11/29/2012
2/4
A chronicle of unrelenting misery, sorrow and human degradation that has powerful moments but is hardly uplifting. Go to Full Review Donald J. Levit ReelTalk Movie Reviews 06/05/2015
The film could do with more pruning and fewer undeveloped characters. Go to Full Review Daniel Eagan Film Journal International 11/30/2012
A relatively even-handed account of a famine which killed three million people, but the storytelling is so careful that it fails to build much interest or emotion. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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06/30/2022 A lost opportunity to share amazing stories and characters, heroes who saved and alleviated the suffering of many 'forgotten-Chinese', during this tumultuous period of Chinese history. See more georgan g @RT98616417 10/15/2021 Although interesting historically, this film was too long with too many characters that you didn't learn to like. It was also 98% in Chinese with subtitles that were often too quick to read. See more william d @acsdoug 06/17/2021 Respectable depiction of a tragic event of WWII. See more 12/13/2020 Even though the film is in Chinese, the acting is really expressive. The refugee scenes are tragic and unforgettable. Epic. See more 09/23/2015 Simply too many undeveloped characters. It's hard to care for so many people when you can't really remember who's who. See more 08/05/2015 ok WWII epic post WWII See more Read all reviews
Back to 1942

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Feng Xiao-Gang

Director

Guoli Zhang

Landlord Fan

Tim Robbins

Father Thomas Morgan

Adrien Brody

Theordore E. White

Xu Fan

Huazhi

Wang Ziwen

Xingxing

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Back to 1942

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Movie Info

Synopsis The fortunes of a well-off Chinese landlord (Zhang Guoli) fall to ruin, as a devastating famine holds the country in its grip in 1942.
Director
Feng Xiao-Gang
Producer
Zhonglei Wang, Sanping Han, Chen Kuo-fu, Albert Yeung, Peter Lam, Dai Song
Screenwriter
Zhenyun Liu
Distributor
China Lion Film Distribution
Production Co
China Film, Huayi Brothers Media Group, Media Asia Films Ltd. [hk]
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
Chinese
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 30, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 11, 2013
Runtime
2h 26m