"I Don't Want to Be Reminded of It Again" ... Chinese Netizens Cool on 'COVID-19 Wuhan Lockdown' Film Releasing After 6 Years

Andy Lau-starring "Baegui Yeokhaengja" to open in China on November 6

Kept on the shelf for nearly six years after filming wrapped in 2020

Reactions: "Do we have to go to a theater and remember the hardships of that time again?"

A film starring Andy Lau that depicts Wuhan, China, in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak has confirmed its release nearly six years after filming wrapped, prompting reactions among Chinese internet users that it is reopening wounds that had begun to heal.

Is it reopening a scabbed-over wound? ... "I don't want to be reminded of it again"

Poster for the film "Baegui Yeokhaengja," starring Andy Lau. Baidu.

According to Yonhap News on October 19, Chinese media outlets including Jinan Times reported that "Baegui Yeokhaengja," directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Qiu Litao and starring Andy Lau and Yang Zishan, will open nationwide in China on November 6.

The film is set in Wuhan in early 2020, when COVID-19 began to spread. It depicts medical staff, patients and residents supporting one another and enduring the infectious disease crisis. Jinan Times described the film as showing "not only medical staff treating patients in hospitals, but also ordinary residents protecting their families and helping strangers in trouble." The production team released a trailer with the phrases "76 days, 10 million people, on the brink between life and death" and the promotional line, "Let us say goodbye to the past and cherish the present with this film."

The film was completed six years ago. According to Hong Kong's Sing Tao Daily, it was filmed over a little more than a month under the title "Jeonyeok Cheonsa" and wrapped production in December 2020. The title was later changed and a release date was set, but the specific reasons it was not released until now have not been disclosed.

News of the release has prompted a considerable number of reactions online in China from people who do not want to revisit their memories of that time. According to Sing Tao Daily, some internet users said, "I can't watch it" and "I don't want to be reminded of it again." One user asked, "The wound has healed and scabbed over, so why reopen it?" Another reaction asked, "Do we have to go to a theater and feel suffocated as we remember the hardships of that time again?" and added, "This alone will make many people turn away."

Some also questioned the timing of the release. One internet user said, "Six years have passed, and audiences' memories and the mood of society have changed. Why release it now?" and asked, "Who exactly is it supposed to move?"

After 76 days of "Wuhan lockdown," large numbers died after COVID restrictions were lifted

A photo showing travelers arriving from China during the spread of COVID-19 in 2023, included to help readers understand the article. The Asia Business Daily archive.

These reactions are rooted in memories of the Wuhan lockdown and the pandemic policies that followed. In early 2020, the entire city of Wuhan was locked down for 76 days because of the spread of COVID-19. China continued its stringent "zero-COVID" policy, which included movement restrictions, mass testing and facility-based quarantine, before effectively abandoning it in late 2022. Infections, however, spread rapidly soon after the restrictions were lifted. According to Chinese authorities, 59,938 people died of COVID-19-related causes at medical institutions between December 8, 2022, and January 12, 2023.

This is not the first time a work about the pandemic response has drawn backlash from Chinese audiences. "Choemi Yeokhaengja," a pandemic-response drama aired by state-run China Central Television (CCTV) in September 2020, received negative reviews on Douban, a Chinese film and television rating site, with a score of 2.4 out of 10. The show's rating page and user reviews later disappeared from the site. "Cheongwa Handong Yongbaoni," a film depicting the stories of Wuhan residents, opened on December 31, 2021, and grossed 584 million yuan (approximately 117 billion won) in just four days. However, amid complaints from residents immediately after its release, short reviews were not made public.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.