Back To 1942

Back To 1942 is the tragic telling of China's Henan province disaster, where three-million people died of starvation. The humanitarian crisis was first sparked by drought, then compounded by a combination of windstorms, government corruption, and a war with Japan. In the midst of the devastation, an American journalist (Brody) searches for answers and slowly comes to understand that there may be a greater connection between these tragedies and his political theories than he once thought. The story follows Landlord Fan (Guoli), who during the 1942 famine finds his house beset by starving villagers. Fan attempts to calm the crowd by preparing a feast. However, his house is burned down in the chaos, prompting Fan, his teenage daughter, his servant, and his tenant to embark on a treacherous journey south, struggling for survival as war with Japan looms on the horizon. Along the way, they encounter an American journalist, a Judge (Wei) and a priest (Hanyu) who has lost his faith. Each meeting reveals the true depth of the despair that grips the country, but the hardships along the way prompt Fan to make some devastating sacrifices that leave him a broken man. (Gary Reber)