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An epic blockbuster that took China by storm

A still from Hollywood blockbuster Avatar.

BEIJING: The bulldozers await at the gates. An evil corporation sends its guards, using every possible threat to move the residents from their land. But all resistance is futile. The people watch in horror, as their homes get torn down to rubble and they are forced to relocate.

This is a not-so-unfamiliar storyline in China where forced land acquisitions by influential real estate companies are rarely away from the headlines. Here, home demolitions are arguably the most controversial of social issues, and widely regarded as the biggest cause of social unrest.

This also happens to be the plotline of James Cameron’s epic blockbuster film ‘Avatar,’ which opened in China last week and has seemingly taken the country by storm.

A week on after its January 4 release, the show is set to break all records at the Chinese box-office.

Screenings in almost every cinema hall in every corner of the country are sold out. The film has already crossed the 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) mark in earnings. It is set to become the most successful ever foreign film in China, and the first to make $500 million yuan ($73.5 million).

The film’s ground-breaking 3D special effects and the publicity hype surrounding its release are no doubt the main drivers behind its wide appeal.

But many film critics and bloggers have also been struck by the close resonance the film’s plotline has had for many cinema-goers here.

“China’s demolition crews must go sue Old [James] Cameron, sue him for piracy/copyright infringement!,” one blogger wrote at the website Tianya.com.

At least a dozen movie-goers The Hindu interviewed after one screening in Beijing’s Sanlitun district said they were moved by the story, particularly its close parallels to the land conflicts that are common in many of China’s cities.

The resonance was so deep that some film critics here dismissed the plot-line as “too common.”

“Some Chinese movie critics think that while the movie is not bad, parts of the plot were too mundane,” the popular and controversial writer Han Han said.

“I completely disagree, because brute-force eviction is unimaginable for audiences in other countries because they think that it can only happen on alien planets. Or in China.”

The film’s release here also happens to coincide with a number of high-profile demolition cases, which have recently stirred debate about land rights.

In November, a woman in Chengdu, Sichuan province, died setting herself ablaze atop her home as demolition crews stood at her doorstep. Her story made headlines across the country, and generated widespread public sympathy.

Beijing has recently suggested it will consider overhauling demolition procedures and acquisition laws, in light of increasing public resentment at the influence real estate companies wield in many of China’s provinces.

The only difference between Mr. Cameron’s film and land conflicts in China, cinema-goers said, was the plot’s denouement.

“The humans actually failed to successfully evict and demolish [the aliens]?,” one blogger wrote. “Truly embarrassing. Why didn’t they send China’s chengguan [security guards] there?”

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An epic blockbuster that took China by storm

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