In 1976, a great earthquake tore apart Tangshan, China. The event also broke a family into pieces when, trying to save his children, a father lost his life. Required to choose which to save between her daughter and son, both buried alive, a mother chooses her son. After they leave, however, the daughter also survives and is adopted by a couple in the People′s Liberation Party. The adoptive parents raise her with unyielding love, while her real mother and brother struggle to restore the family, remembering the loss. Based on the event, [Aftershock] records the scars on a family and its recovery. Cleaved earth and collapsed buildings symbolize the family′s loss of its patriarch and its broken relationships. Director Feng Xiaogang depicts the tragic event with seamless editing and rhythmical dramaturgy. In its humane drama, the devastating landscape still leaves room for hope, happiness, and a future for the family. (MUN Gwangyu)