The sun is going to expand into the orbit of Mercury according to scientific calculations, which will result in the entire Earth catching on fire, killing all life on the planet. In order to survive, the United Earth Government installs about 10,000 giant engines on Earth to carry it away from its initial orbit and flee to Alpha Centauri about 4.2 light years away.
The whole trip is expected to last 2,500 years, during which time humankind will go through about 100 generations. Yet, as Earth approaches Jupiter, the gas giant’s huge gravitational force captures the planet and threatens to tear Earth apart within days. Who will save the world?
This imaginative tale is at the heart of the science-fiction movie The Wandering Earth, which was put on on Feb 5. The original novel was written by Liu Cixin, one of China’s most famous science-fiction writers. Perhaps thanks to Liu’s fame, as well as the huge marketing efforts of the movie team, The Wandering Earth posted ticket sales of 670 million yuan ($99.3 million) on the first day of its release.
More importantly, The Wandering Earth is the first “made in China” science-fiction movie on the big screen, as the original novel was written by a Chinese author and the director, Guo Fan, is also Chinese. Actually, the film only borrows from the novel the idea of the Earth having to flee the solar system. Those familiar with Liu’s works might even find that one part of the movie, in which an astronaut sacrifices himself by driving the space station to the atmosphere of Jupiter, seems similar to the best part of another science-fiction story from Liu.
Among movie commentators, a popular quote has emerged, forecasting that 2019 marks the starting year of prosperity for Chinese science-fiction movies because of The Wandering Earth. Only time will tell whether that prediction will come true.
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