Canadian director, producer, and writer Michael Mahonen’s award-winning Sandstorm pays homage to the ancient adage “Good is rewarded, evil provokes retribution” while revealing the chilling and cruel persecution of Falun Dafa, an ancient traditional spiritual meditation and qigong practice based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
Protagonist He Tian Ying (Rong Tian), a mid-level police chief works for the Gestapo-like 610 office whose mission is to eradicate Falun Dafa practitioners. While trapped in his house during a twelve-day sandstorm with his ailing wife, a lack of electricity, and dwindling food supplies, he recalls a warning from a Falun Dafa practitioner before she was tortured to death by his subordinates. She had forewarned him that those who do evil things will be met with retribution and that his family would also suffer as a consequence. Having lost his daughter already and on the verge of losing his wife to a life-threatening disease, he realizes that the practitioner’s words have become his reality and we become witnesses to his awakened conscience as he finally faces what he has done.
Rong Tian’s debut acting performance is perfectly nuanced, demonstrating an impressive range and depth of emotions throughout the film. Lili Li, in her role as the Falun Dafa practitioner who is tortured to death, still haunts me with her righteousness and tolerance even as she is subjected to unbelievably shocking cruelty for merely practicing Falun Dafa.
Given the Chinese Communist Party’s stringent controls on its media and Internet access, most of its citizens are unaware of the truth behind the ten plus years and continuing persecution of Falun Dafa. Sandstorm is powerfully captivating and serves as testament to the efficacy of film as a medium to provoke thought and raise awareness about social injustices in today’s world.
