Jia Zhangke

[Dillinger4]

Does anybody else like the films of Jia Zhangke?

I have watched two films so far, Cry Me a River and 24 City. I have quite a few more ready to watch.

I found 24 City fascinating. Here is a synopsis from from IMDB (because I am rubbish at describing films):

Change and a city in China. In Chengdu, factory 420 is being pulled down to make way for multi-story buildings with luxury flats. Scenes of factory operations, of the workforce, and of buildings stripped bare and then razed, are inter-cut with workers who were born in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s telling their stories - about the factory, which manufactured military aircraft, and about their work and their lives. A middle-aged man visits his mentor, now elderly; a woman talks of being a 19-year-old beauty there and ending up alone. The film concludes with two young people talking, each the child of workers, each relaying a story of one visit to a factory. Times change.

Jia Zhangke belongs to the 'sixth generation' of Chinese cinema:

the post-1990 era has seen what some observers term the "return of the amateur filmmaker" as state censorship policies after the Tiananmen Square demonstrations produced an edgy underground film movement loosely referred to as the Sixth Generation. Owing to the lack of state funding and backing, these films were shot quickly and cheaply, using materials like 16mm film and digital video and mostly non-professional actors and actresses, producing a documentary feel, often with long takes, hand-held cameras, ambient sound; more akin to Italian neorealism and cinéma vérité than the often lush, far more considered productions of the Fifth Generation. Unlike the Fifth Generation, the Sixth Generation brings a more individualistic, anti-romantic life-view and pays far closer attention to contemporary urban life, especially those affected by disorientation, rebellion and dissatisfaction with China's contemporary social tensions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_China#The_Sixth_Generation_and_beyond.2C_1990s_-_present

I am finding everything I have seen so far fascinating. These films document the everyday reality of ordinary Chinese people, filmed as directly as possible, on the street, a reality that many of us don't get to see. I find it especially interesting that films like this are starting to come out of China.

They are beautifully shot as well.

Has anybody else seen them? What do you think?

 

[blossie33]

Yes, I saw the 24 hour film at the ICA last year - really liked it.

I read afterwards though that a few of the people featured were actually actors - not that that detracted from my enjoyment of the film.

 

[Dillinger4]

Yes, I saw the 24 hour film at the ICA last year - really liked it.

I read afterwards though that a few of the people featured were actually actors - not that that detracted from my enjoyment of the film.

I think he use a mix of actors and non actors and uses a kind of semi- documentary style in order to depict what life is like for ordinary Chinese people. I find his films amazing. I watched Still Life today, about a few people who return to Fengjie in China only to find everything from their old lives gone because of the Three Gorges Dam, and everything changing pretty quickly.

(my description does it an injustice though!).

Tomorrow I am going to watch 'The World', which is set in Beijing World Park, a kind of scaled version of all the things to see around the world (Big Ben, Taj Mahal, etc). I think it leans more towards drama than documentary. IMDB describes it like this:

An exploration on the impact of urbanization and globalization on a traditional culture

 

[Debord]

I think he use a mix of actors and non actors and uses a kind of semi- documentary style in order to depict what life is like for ordinary Chinese people.

He is heavily and openly influnced by Bresson in this respect. Platform and Unknown Pleasures are definetly worth watching also.

 

[Dillinger4]

He is heavily and openly influnced by Bresson in this respect. Platform and Unknown Pleasures are definetly worth watching also.

I have Unknown Pleasures ready to watch.

When I watch his films, I can see a lot of influence from neo-realism and cinéma vérité (as one of those quotes mention up there ^).

I think it especially interesting that cinema in this particular form is starting to emerge from China.

 

[Debord]

Im still a sucker for Hong Kong triad trashy films but yeah its great to see whats going on in the mainland. How/where are you watching these by the way?

 

[Dillinger4]

Im still a sucker for Hong Kong triad trashy films but yeah its great to see whats going on in the mainland. How/where are you watching these by the way?

torrents! it's how I get all my films.