Standstorm

Few things obliterate subtlety like the invocation of divine wrath—and so it is with this preachy reckoning tale centered on China’s brutal crackdown on the Falun Gong. The unending swirling sand, you see, is God’s vengeance for governmental abuses, and strands a state detective (Rong) in his home. While the cop rations rice and chops furniture for tinder, jagged flashbacks recount barbaric interrogations geared toward “transforming” the faithful. What could have been a riveting thriller about a guilt-riddled cop cracking up instead becomes a series of monster-versus-saint confrontations and some seriously hammy advocacy.