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Sandstorm

Play trailer Poster for Sandstorm 2009 1h 16m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Trapped by a massive sandstorm, a policeman (Rong Tian) thinks back on his persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, and the memories torment him.

Critics Reviews

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Aaron Hillis Village Voice 09/09/2009
At best, it's a perfunctory narrative, complete with title cards that clunkily hit the same bullet points that might appear on one of those rally fliers. Go to Full Review Jeannette Catsoulis New York Times 09/04/2009
2.5/5
Has a static, playlike tone exacerbated by stilted performances and meager production values. Go to Full Review S. James Snyder Time Out 09/02/2009
1/5
What could have been a riveting thriller about a guilt-riddled cop cracking up instead becomes a series of monster-versus-saint confrontations and some seriously hammy advocacy. Go to Full Review Avi Offer NYC Movie Guru 09/07/2009
5.25/10
A missed opportunity...A sporadically provocative, contrived and uneven dramatic thriller that lacks emotional resonance and insight while leaving the viewer feeling ultimately underwhelmed. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Harry B @Harry861 01/10/2025 This movie was amazing, it helped me find my inner self and opened my third eye See more 09/13/2009 Although RT critics' comments of Sandstorm are discouraging, curiosity got the better of me. Wow! Sandstorm is a powerful film! It may be a low budget film and the actors may not be the most experienced ones, but the story and the message truly touched my heart. It would be very hard for someone who has never lived under a totalitarian regime to imagine how could something like this happen in modern China - the excruciating torture techniques used on ordinary citizens who follow a peaceful spiritual practice, called "Falun Gong," and the extent of the mental control that the Communist Regime exert on its own people. (The depiction of the torture scenes are watered down, but one gets the idea) Although the technical aspect of the film may seem a bit rudimentary, the film pokes at our conscience and brings a hopeful message to mankind. See more 06/12/2007 Very powerful film and completely relevant (even if I was involved in making it!). Check out the trailer here: http://web.mac.com/gifted01/iWeb/jayagibson/Sandstorm.html See more 06/12/2007 Amazingly crafted film, one of the few films that explores the reality Falun Gong practitioners face in China. When seeing it I also saw many different stories of practitioners that I was familiar with. See more Read all reviews
Sandstorm

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Michael Mahonen

Director

Rong Tian

Hetian Ying

Li-Li Li

The Practitioner

Angela Huang

Young Policewoman

Steve Hong

Supervisor

Cheng Guang

Young Policeman
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Sandstorm

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Movie Info

Synopsis Trapped by a massive sandstorm, a policeman (Rong Tian) thinks back on his persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, and the memories torment him.
Director
Michael Mahonen
Producer
Michael Mahonen, Rebecca Boudreau
Screenwriter
Michael Mahonen
Distributor
Requisite Films
Production Co
Requisite Films, New Tang Dynasty Films, NTD Productions
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Chinese
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 4, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 3, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.7K
Runtime
1h 16m