It
is a real thing. This sci-fi disaster term has been applied to Beijing’s
persistently thick smog—Google it to see some terrifying images. It is no
secret where it comes from, but it sure would be nice to have a fantastical
source to explain it all away. The ancient gods will oblige in Xiao Yang’s Airpocalypse (trailer here), which is still
showing in Los Angeles and other major cities.
In
this superhero movie, Thor is the bad guy. In his mortal guise as Bai Xuejing,
the God of Thunder has become China’s richest mogul through his brand of home
air purifiers. He also happens to be responsible for the haze enveloping Beijing.
The plan is to completely obscure the watchful eye of heaven, allowing his to
once again heft his enchanted hammer.
The
haze is also good business for Ma Le. His suicide prevention counseling
business had been struggling, but now he is working around the clock. For
reasons that do not make much sense, he is called in to give an emergency
session for Bai, who mainly wants to gloat over his cosmic shenanigans. Ma Le
initially assumes the industrialist is off his rocker, but it all starts to
make sense when the God of Longevity accidentally transfers his mojo to the
counselor. Soon he is teaming up with three more fallen gods, the God of Wind,
the God of Rain, and Cai Ming, Mother Lightning, to bring order back to the
world.
So,
Beijing’s pollution is not just for documentaries and art films anymore. Although
Xiao and his battery of co-writers (Huang Yuan, Ben Liu, and Zhang Shaochu) address
the phenomenon in a light comedy-fantasy context, it is still quite obvious
this is something that is on the minds (and in the lungs) of Beijingers. It is
definitely a thing. Naturally, the film is not about to point fingers at the
Party cronies and the regulatory officials looking the other way, but calling
out Airpocalypse and linking it to depression
and suicide is still pretty significant.
Directing
himself, Xiao settles into the role of Ma Le, developing a more forceful
persona as the film progresses. Du Juan nicely projects Cai Ming’s icy façade,
while hinting at her compassionate warmth hidden within. Wang Xiaoli, Yi
Yunhee, and Chong Yuan are not shy about mugging for yucks as the Gods of
Longevity, Wind, and Rain, respectively, but we have seen shtickier. However, as
the God of Thunder, Xiao Shenyang does not seem to be sufficiently enjoying his
villainy.
There
definitely seems to a Ghostbusters influence
discernable in Airpocalypse,
especially an arctic spirit, who resembles Slimer. However, it is based on an all
too real reality. Xiao also finds a way to wrap it up in a way that is a little
bit different and off-center from what viewers will probably expect, but still
manages to be upbeat and satisfying. Yet, Airpocalypse
is most interesting for the stress and anxiety it reflects. If you want to psychoanalyze
a nation take a look at its genre movies. In this case, Airpocalypse is definitely a deep dive into Beijingers’ heads
(guess what, they want the smog to go away, but painlessly). Watchable as a light
afternoon diversion (that some of us can read stuff into, if we are so inclined),
Airpocalypse is still playing in LA,
at the AMC Atlantic Times Square and AMC Puente Hills.
