Directed by Jia Zhang-Ke • 2002 • China
Starring Wu Qiong, Zhao Wei Wei, Zhao Tao
One of the first great films of the twenty-first century, Jia Zhang-Ke’s third feature (and his first shot on digital) sets an arresting tale of disaffected youth against the backdrop of a changing China. Evoking the existential malaise of China’s so-called “birth control” generation—who came of age following the country’s one-child policy—UNKNOWN PLEASURES unfolds in a series of stunning, slow-burn long takes as it traces the relationship between an aimless teenage couple searching for meaning amid the detritus of Western pop culture.
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The World
Directed by Jia Zhang-Ke • 2004 • China
Starring Zhao Tao, Cheng Taishen, Jing JueAn 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 E...
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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...
