Plot Summary:The dam of Three Gorges, the largest dam that humans have ever built on earth, is under construction in China. The water-reserving began in 2003, and is expected to be completed in 2009. Until then, hundreds of counties, thousands of towns, and millions of local residents, including countless natural and historic spots along the area of Three Gorges, will be under the water level of the reservoir, including Fengjie, the town which became famous because of Li Bai, one of the most significant poets in the Chinese history. This film is a genuine overall record of the relocation of Fengjie town in 2002, just before the first water-reserving. An old man, who used to make a living out of a small inn for the cargo-movers in the front, was losing all of his assets. The priests of one local Christian church found it difficult to keep their faiths while bargaining for the breakdown of their church. Many life stories happened there, not without struggles and tears.
为建造世界上最大的水电站——中国长江三峡水电站,长江三峡地区将建成世界上最大的水库。从2003年起水库开始蓄水,至2009年水库蓄水完毕,沿江的城镇、乡村、文物、自然景观不少将被淹没。因中国古代最伟大诗人李白的诗而闻名天下的奉节县也在其中。 本片忠实记录了2002年为保证三峡水库第一次蓄水成功,在水位上涨前,奉节老县城搬迁毁灭的全过程。记录了一位开苦力旅店的志愿军老人即将失去生活依靠的无奈;一座基督教教堂为搬迁的利益而丧失信仰的过程;以及一群移民干部和一群城市贫民在搬迁、拆除旧城过程中种种无法回避的矛盾纠葛和痛苦的内心挣扎。 《淹没》是两位导演的第一部作品,获2005年柏林电影节青年论坛沃尔夫冈·斯陶特奖(Wolfgang Staudte Award),入选2005年法国真实电影节。