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Sandstorm

Released Sep 4, 2009 1h 16m Drama List
Reviews 100% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
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 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. Sep 9, 2009 Full Review Jeannette Catsoulis New York Times Has a static, playlike tone exacerbated by stilted performances and meager production values. Rated: 2.5/5 Sep 4, 2009 Full Review S. James Snyder Time Out 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. Rated: 1/5 Sep 2, 2009 Full Review Avi Offer NYC Movie Guru A missed opportunity...A sporadically provocative, contrived and uneven dramatic thriller that lacks emotional resonance and insight while leaving the viewer feeling ultimately underwhelmed. Rated: 5.25/10 Sep 7, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member 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. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member 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 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member 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. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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
New Tang Dynasty Films, NTD Productions, Requisite Films
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