Pov

Fallen City

In today's go-go China, an old city completely destroyed by a devastating earthquake can be rebuilt -- boasting new and improved civic amenities -- in an astoundingly quick two years. But, as this film reveals, the journey from the ruined old city of Bichuan to the new Bichuan nearby is long and heartbreaking for the survivors. Three families struggle with loss -- most strikingly the loss of children and grandchildren -- and feelings of loneliness, fear and dislocation that no amount of propaganda can disguise. First-time director Zhao Qi offers an intimate look at a country torn between tradition and modernity.