Back to 1942
2012 · 145 min · Director: Xiaogang Feng, Feng Xiaogang
Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)
A famine with multiple contributing factors and devastating effects during the Second Sino-Japanese war is chronicled from the official perspective of reporters, generals, politicians and real families whose lives were forever altered by drastic measures they were forced to take in order to survive. Alternately ignoring the dire nature of the famine and its subsequent exodus of millions of people from the Hunen province, and minimizing its devastation to the outside world, the Chinese Nationalist government of the time is one which seems to be over burdened by ongoing war efforts and corruption in the distribution of relief supplies. Policy and private life are worlds apart in stopping the devastation shown through the portrayals of those who lived to tell the tale and their accounts of those who were not so lucky, of whom there were many (3 million.) This is a true story based upon Liu Zhenyun's novel "Remembering 1942," Zhenyun himself is the descendant of a survivor of the 1942 famine and his family story is poignantly portrayed--showing heroism, self sacrifice, terrible misfortune and ultimate survival of the lucky few.
Emotional fingerprint
Back to 1942 (2012) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Sadness 32%, Empathy 25%, Disturbing 18%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure
- Sadness32%
- Empathy25%
- Disturbing18%
- Fear15%
- Inspiration10%
AI estimate · no viewer votes yet
How we measure
AI estimate
Share of emotional signal, not the percentage of people or a probability of enjoyment.
Each viewer contributes one response, split equally across their selected emotions. When available, an automated estimate supplies a prior that is blended with those responses. Counts include distinct viewers, not automated estimates or archived anonymous votes. Fewer than 3 viewers is an early estimate; more responses do not guarantee certainty.
Why it feels this way
The strongest emotional signals are Sadness, Empathy, Disturbing. Genres: Drama, History, War. AI estimate.
Is it worth watching?
Consider this title if you are looking for Sadness, Empathy and Disturbing. Its IMDb rating of 6.9/10 suggests a generally positive audience reception. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 69/100.
How did it make you feel?
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Pick up to three · 0/3
Emotional journey
- Sadness
- Empathy
- Disturbing
Not enough subtitle evidence
No dominant emotion
Dominant emotion: Tension
Dominant emotion: Sadness
Dominant emotion: Empathy
Dominant emotion: Disturbing
Dominant emotion
| % | Approximate minute | Dominant emotion | Overall intensity | Sadness | Empathy | Disturbing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 % | ≈ 4′ | Tension | 57 % | 37 % | 40 % | 30 % |
| 7.5 % | ≈ 11′ | Tension | 63 % | 40 % | 45 % | 39 % |
| 12.5 % | ≈ 18′ | Sadness | 61 % | 46 % | 50 % | 43 % |
| 17.5 % | ≈ 25′ | Sadness | 59 % | 51 % | 51 % | 46 % |
| 22.5 % | ≈ 33′ | Sadness | 62 % | 55 % | 52 % | 51 % |
| 27.5 % | ≈ 40′ | Sadness | 69 % | 60 % | 61 % | 55 % |
| 32.5 % | ≈ 47′ | Tension | 79 % | 69 % | 71 % | 64 % |
| 37.5 % | ≈ 54′ | Sadness | 81 % | 75 % | 74 % | 68 % |
| 42.5 % | ≈ 62′ | Sadness | 71 % | 65 % | 64 % | 56 % |
| 47.5 % | ≈ 69′ | Tension | 68 % | 56 % | 59 % | 45 % |
| 52.5 % | ≈ 76′ | Empathy | 71 % | 59 % | 65 % | 44 % |
| 57.5 % | ≈ 83′ | Sadness | 65 % | 51 % | 57 % | 46 % |
| 62.5 % | ≈ 91′ | Disturbing | 63 % | 48 % | 51 % | 52 % |
| 67.5 % | ≈ 98′ | Sadness | 72 % | 61 % | 65 % | 60 % |
| 72.5 % | ≈ 105′ | Empathy | 73 % | 60 % | 64 % | 60 % |
| 77.5 % | ≈ 112′ | Disturbing | 68 % | 48 % | 49 % | 54 % |
| 82.5 % | ≈ 120′ | Tension | 74 % | 54 % | 55 % | 54 % |
| 87.5 % | ≈ 127′ | Tension | 83 % | 69 % | 71 % | 61 % |
| 92.5 % | ≈ 134′ | Sadness | 88 % | 81 % | 83 % | 61 % |
| 97.5 % | ≈ 141′ | Sadness | 92 % | 90 % | 88 % | 58 % |
Oedipus
Rags to riches: The emotional tone rises from negative to positive.
Riches to rags: The emotional tone falls from positive to negative.
Man in a hole: The tone falls, then recovers.
Icarus: The tone rises, then falls.
Cinderella: The tone rises, falls, then rises again.
Oedipus: The tone falls, rises, then falls again.
AI reading of the film’s English subtitles (dialogue and sound cues) — not viewer votes. How we measure ↗
Kadri — your film companion
AIAsk anything about Back to 1942. From the film’s own dialogue and FeelDB data, at your spoiler level.
Afterward Reveal viewer responses · may contain spoilers
Viewer responses about feelings after the title ended, separate from feelings while watching. No AI estimates.
0 responses so far
Feeling details appear after at least 3 viewers respond, to protect privacy.
Cast
Fan Dianyuan
Shuan Zhu
Xia Lu
Song Ziwen
Secretary Han
Song Meiling
Master Fan's Daughter-in-Law
Refugee
Xia Lu's Mother
Details
- Directed by
- Xiaogang Feng, Feng Xiaogang
- Written by
- Zhenyun Liu, Liu Zhenyun
- Type
- Movies
- Released
- 2012
- Runtime
- 145 min
- Country
- China
- Ratings
- Feels mostly
- Sadness
- Data updated
Where to watch
Also on
Availability varies by country
Feels similar
More like this →Emotion overlap shows mood similarity, not a prediction of enjoyment.
