The word “wandering” is often used to describe some people who have no fix domicile, no identity paper etc., which make me imagine the “sans papier ”s in French. “Wandering” put in front of “Earth” could be quite attractive as a film name. Up to now, just several days after its release, the film has refreshed the Chinese film record of box office, accompanying overwhelming publicity such as Chinese great science fiction and positive comments of audience, which really attract us to watch this film.

Regarding a film with such good reputation or important accomplishment, I feel like to share my opinion after watching it and viewing related comments of external critic on line.  As common audience, the film demonstrated a fantastic story, with exciting and touching storyline, with fascinating visual effects.

The background of the story is about the near future of solar galaxy and mankind, when the sun ages and continues to expand drastically and eventually gobbles up the earth. The emergency pushes the United Earth Government consolidates the world to build thruster net involving thousands of engines to move the planet out of the solar galaxy and then enter a new galaxy with similar circumstance with actual solar galaxy. As passing by the Jupiter, Earth is captured by immense gravity and deviated from predefined orbit, which could cause eventually the collision of the Jupiter and the Earth. The mankind faces to be ruined.

A family of Chinese astronaut progressively involves in the final mission of rescuing Earth, as a major storyline throughout the entire film. This family is composed by grandfather Han Ziang a senior driver of heavy vehicle of “Post- Solar Galaxy Age”, father Liu Peiqiang Chinese astronaut volunteered to join in international space station for decades, son Liu Qi raised by his grandfather and separated with farther about 4 years old as well as a adopted girl, small sister of Liu Qi, a survival of a catastrophe after Earth stopped rotation, saved by Han Ziang. Finally, the grandfather and the father devote their life to complete the Earth rescuing mission.

Although certain critic think the emotional story could not express real or complete feeling, the majority plot is developed smoothly and reasonably. But honestly, the introducing of the members of urgency rescuing team is relatively abrupt without any previous mention especially to the programmer Li Yi, such important role to the final mission. Regarding the tension between Liu Qi and his long-absent father Liu Peiqiang and the sudden change of Duoduo from a whiny toddler to final speaker, it’s better to understand by approaching Chinese culture. 

In Chinese traditional family, the image of the father is often serious, unsmiling or not communicating directly with the children especially to their son. The emotion between father and son in China is sometimes subtle.

Then, the Chinese traditional culture influencing Chinese children from an early age is of collectivist culture, which enables them to learn a habit of thinking from the collective interest, even though they have no way to completely overcome their naive side. So the stirring speech that Duoduo made at the end is such difficult to the children of her age in China.

The critical approach of external review from foreign critic is obviously professional, but the pressing, embarrassed or even no-real feeling on the communication between Chinese families and colleagues is probably caused by cultural misunderstanding.