Directed by Jia Zhang-Ke • 2004 • China
Starring Zhao Tao, Cheng Taishen, Jing Jue
An at once intimate and expansive exploration of globalization from visionary director Jia Zhang-Ke, THE WORLD takes place in the eponymous theme park on the outskirts of Beijing, where iconic monuments from the Eiffel Tower to the Taj Mahal are reproduced for tourists. It’s there that the park’s employees—including a dancer (Zhao Tao) and a security guard (Cheng Taishen)—drift together and are pulled apart in a cycle of connection and alienation that speaks eloquently to the effects of China’s rapid modernization.
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The Hedonists
Directed by Jia Zhang-Ke • 2016 • China
Starring Han Sanming, Jindong Liang, Yuan WenqianJia Zhang-Ke finds wry tragicomedy and sharp social insight in the story of unemployed Shanxi coal miners whose search for work leads them to surprising places.
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Ash Is Purest White
Directed by Jia Zhang-Ke • 2018 • China
Starring Zhao Tao, Liao Fan, Diao YinanVisionary director Jia Zhang-Ke’s mesmerizing, decade-plus spanning journey through China’s criminal underworld features a tour-de-force performance from his frequent star Zhao Tao as Zhao Qiao, the swaggering girlfr...
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Xiao Shan Going Home
Directed by Jia Zhang-Ke • 1995 • China
Starring Wang Hongwei, Dong Shuzhe, Yao ShengJia Zhang-Ke’s raw yet revelatory student film—in many ways a precursor to his debut feature XIAO WU—stars his frequent on-screen alter ego Wang Hongwei as a young, aimless cook drifting through encounters in B...
