Directed by Jia Zhangke • 1997 • China, Hong Kong
Starring Wang Hongwei, Hao Hongjian, Zuo Baitao
The feature debut of visionary director Jia Zhangke announced the arrival of arguably the most important Chinese filmmaker of his generation. Left behind by friends who have taken advantage of the changing economy and moved on with their lives, aimless pickpocket Xiao Wu (Wang Hongwei) drifts into a relationship with a sex worker (Hao Hongjian) as he begins to question the purpose of his existence. Shot guerrilla style in 16 mm with a cast of nonprofessional actors, XIAO WU is at once an intimate character study and a trenchant examination of the political and economic forces reshaping Chinese society in the 1990s.
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Platform
Directed by Jia Zhangke • 2000 • China
Starring Wang Hongwei, Zhao Tao, Liang JingdongOne of the first masterpieces of twenty-first century cinema, Jia Zhangke’s sophomore feature is an at once epic and intimate vision of the changing China of the 1980s. Unfolding between 1979 and 1990, PLATFOR...
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Unknown Pleasures
Directed by Jia Zhangke • 2002 • China
Starring Wu Qiong, Zhao Wei Wei, Zhao TaoOne of the first great films of the twenty-first century, Jia Zhangke’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...
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The World
Directed by Jia Zhangke • 2004 • China
Starring Zhao Tao, Cheng Taishen, Jing JueAn at once intimate and expansive exploration of globalization from visionary director Jia Zhangke, THE WORLD takes place in the eponymous theme park on the outskirts of Beijing, where iconic monuments from the Eif...
