Thunderstorm

Thunderstorm

Year: 1934

Runtime: 85 mins

Language: Russian

Director: Vladimir Petrov

Drama

Adapted from Aleksandr Ostrovsky’s play “The Storm”, the film follows Katerina in a Volga town. She marries the violent drunk Tikhon and enters the world of merchants known as the “dark kingdom”. Dominated by her mother‑in‑law Kabanikha, she is tormented until, in Tikhon’s absence, she meets Boris, a man who offers the freedom she longs for.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline – Thunderstorm (1934)

Trace every key event in Thunderstorm (1934) with our detailed, chronological timeline. Perfect for unpacking nonlinear stories, spotting hidden connections, and understanding how each scene builds toward the film’s climax. Whether you're revisiting or decoding for the first time, this timeline gives you the full picture.

1

Prologue: Haunting at the Zhou mansion hospital

Two children stumble into the former Zhou mansion, now a Catholic hospital. Inside, two disturbed patients are cared for by nuns while an elderly man, old Mr Zhou, visits. Through nurses' remarks, it is revealed that three people died there ten years earlier and the house is considered haunted. The prologue ends with the older woman collapsing at the window.

Ten years before 1925 Zhou mansion hospital
2

Lu Gui reveals the forbidden affair to Sifeng

In the Zhou drawing room, Lu Gui tells Sifeng about Fanyi's secret affair with Zhou Ping. Sifeng is shocked because she herself is secretly in love with Ping. The conversation exposes the danger of scandal within the family and foreshadows the tragedy to come.

Summer 1925 (Act I) Zhou drawing room
3

Ping and Fanyi's unsettling complexity; medicine demanded

Zhou Ping enters with a tense air, while Fanyi shows mixed feelings about the family's expectations. Puyuan orders Fanyi to drink a traditional medicine to cure her 'mental imbalance', and she reluctantly obeys under his authority. Ping watches, uneasy, as the power of tradition cements its grip on the household.

Summer 1925 (Act I) Zhou drawing room
4

Shiping memory and Ping's parentage

Puyuan fondly recalls Shiping, Ping's supposed birth mother, and displays her photograph in the drawing room. He rebukes Ping for his drinking and loose conduct, underscoring the entrenched hypocrisy of the family. The memory hints at a hidden lineage that will explode later.

Summer 1925 (Act I) Zhou drawing room
5

Dahai's arrival and confrontation

Lu Dahai, Shiping's son who does not yet know Puyuan is his father, arrives at the Zhou house to challenge the master's exploitation. Ping confronts him, Dahai insults the Zhou family, and Ping punches Dahai while servants eject him. Mrs Lu exits with Dahai, revealing the volatile clash between class, loyalty, and the family's secrets.

Act II (afternoon) Zhou house
6

Ping contemplates leaving for the country

In the afternoon, Ping privately meets Sifeng in the drawing room and tells her of his plan to leave the family and work in the countryside with his father. Sifeng begs him not to go, but he remains torn between love and duty. The moment deepens the rift between them and raises the stakes of their secrecy.

Act II (afternoon) Zhou drawing room
7

Mrs Lu's arrival and Shiping's identity hint

Mrs Lu, Sifeng's mother, arrives for an appointment with Fanyi and recognizes herself in Shiping's photograph, though she does not disclose this to Sifeng. She keeps her truth hidden to protect the fragile peace of the household. The exchange foreshadows the buried past that will erupt with fatal consequences.

Act II (afternoon) Zhou house / drawing room
8

Ping and Sifeng's clandestine meeting

Zhou Ping secretly meets Sifeng in the drawing room and declares his intention to leave his home for good. Sifeng pleads for him to stay despite the social costs. The lovers' resolve tightens the web of secrets binding the Zhou family.

Act II (afternoon) Zhou drawing room
9

Midnight visit and escape path

Late at night, Zhou Ping climbs through Sifeng's window for a private embrace. Dahai suddenly enters with a pistol, forcing a confrontation that drives the lovers to flee into the rain. The family races after them into a storm that mirrors the coming catastrophe.

Midnight (Act III) Sifeng's room / Zhou mansion
10

2am confrontation and torn loyalties

Back in the Zhou living room, Fanyi confronts Ping and accuses him of conspiring with his father. She begs him to take her away and, in a fit of rage, tears up Shiping's picture. The illusion of family order fractures as guilt and rage spill over.

2am (Act IV) Zhou living room
11

Pregnancy, flight plan, and hidden truths

Sifeng reveals she is pregnant with Ping's child, intensifying the urgency to flee. Mrs Lu attempts to stop them, aware of the social and familial dangers, while the brothers wrestle with what they owe to each other. The escape plan becomes a desperate gamble against an unbridgeable past.

2am (Act IV) Zhou house
12

Revelation of half-siblings and mother's identity

Puyuan enters and, unaware of the full romance, learns that Mrs Lu is Ping's mother and that Sifeng and Ping are half-siblings. A hushed, catastrophic truth settles over the room as the last chance for reconciliation vanishes.

2am (Act IV) Zhou living room
13

Tragedy erupts: electrocution and suicide

The escape degenerates into tragedy as Sifeng and Zhou Chong are electrocuted by a broken live wire while fleeing the house. Ping, overwhelmed by desperation, shoots himself, leaving the family to confront their ruin. The house remains haunted by the revelation of their hidden lineage.

2am (Act IV) Zhou grounds / exterior
14

Epilogue: ten years later at the hospital

In a hospital ten years later, old Mr Zhou asks about the old woman and laments the lack of news about Lu Dahai. He remains haunted by the past as he stares into the fire, a man defined by his losses. The tragedy continues to echo through the present, long after the events have ended.

Ten years later (Epilogue) Hospital (former Zhou mansion)

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 11:04

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