Jia zhangke, the director of still life, looks at his country and sees an enormous, rapidly changing movie set. Still life, winner golden lion, venice film festival 2006, is an empathetic portrait of those left behind by a modernizing society and, as in director jia zhangke s earlier films platform, unknown pleasures, the world, it is a unique hybrid of documentary and fiction. Still life, winner golden lion, venice film festival 2006, is an empathetic portrait of those left behind by a modernizing society and, as in director jia zhangkes earlier films platform, unknown pleasures, the world, it is a unique hybrid of documentary and fiction. See the full list of still life cast and crew including actors, directors, producers and more. During the 63rd venice film festival last month, chinese. Dong, shown in toronto, is a companion piece to still life, which won the venice festival this year and was belatedly added to the toronto lineup, but neither still life nor dong is in nyff. Still life interweaves the story of a miner han sanming who travels thousands of miles to a town near the yangtze river to look for his ex. Jia zhangke born 24 may 1970 is a chinese film director and screenwriter. Zhangke jia was born on may 24, 1970 in fenyang, shanxi, china. Jia is a great director, and much of still lifes power comes from the way he depicts his characters moving through the landscape an environment of crowded ferries, collapsed buildings, small. Chinese characters and their english translation for cigarettes, liquor, toffee, and tea appear on screen. A long and melancholy summation of better movies the brilliant jia zhangke has made before, ash is purest white finds chinas most prominent filmmaker wistfully replaying the. Mainland chinese director jia zhangkes still life aka sanxia haoren, a last minute entry into the 2006 venice film festival, eventually won the golden lion award thanks to its topnotch cinematography and wonderful storytelling.
He is generally regarded as a leading figure of the sixth generation movement of chinese cinema, a group that also includes such figures as wang xiaoshuai, lou ye, wang quanan and zhang yuan. He finally got state approval with the world shijie, 2004 and then worldwide recognition with still life sanxia haoren, 2006, which won the golden lion. Jia zhangkes still life, a deeply felt and quietly impressive film, was the winner of the golden lion at last years venice film festival, and. If his early works marked him out as a realist, then the world 2004 and still life 2006 exhibited surrealistic tendencies, while 24 city 2008 moved towards factfiction hybridity. There is a poignancy in the shabbiness of their glory.
Jia occasionally intercuts these with snippets of informational text e. Labeled a member of the sixth generation of directors, jia zhangke gained wide international acclaim. A world of infinite rubble, halfdemolished buildings and a grayblue river splitting the city in two, the presentation is enhanced by the introduction of a series of incongruous. Shen hong, and all the others surrounding them, as full, lovely people who have become mere cogs in the wheel of timeeven in the opening. Still life maybe doesnt have the budget and bright aesthetics of jia zhangke later epics, it doesnt prevent it from being absolutely beautiful. Jia zhangke has been at the forefront of chinas indie cinema movement for two decades, with titles that have included still life, platform, and a touch of sin. Insights of the actors and on the places of his movies. Ranking all of director jia zhangkes movies cinema. Compare the teenagers mimicry of a tarantino bit in unknown pleasures with sanmings bonding with a fellow worker wang hongwei over a chow yunfat impression and it becomes clear how a movie. While there is a plot and characters, this picture also captures a specific moment in time and records a pronounced and profound shift in the chinese landscape and the culture around the three gorges. Han sanming, tao zhao, li zhu bing, hongwei wang director.
Kraicer even goes on to say that those looking to find support for an ambivalent interior critique of the concomitant pleasures and dangers of turning cinema itself into a series of tantalizingly consumable items could do worse than start here. During the 63rd venice film festival last month, chinese mainland director jia zhangke walked away with this years gold lion award for best movie with still life. Oct 24, 2006 during the 63rd venice film festival last month, chinese mainland director jia zhangke walked away with this years gold lion award for best movie with still life. Jia zhangke s still life is a prime example of the effectiveness of observational filmmaking and how the weight of the subject alone and its themes can not only propel but impact the drama forward. Shot in the old village of fengjie, a small town on the yangtze river which is slowly being destroyed by the building of the three gorges dam, still life tells the story of two people in search of their spouses. Jia zhangke s hyperlink portrayal of the effects of urbanization on rural china is made beautiful by sweeping camera movements and lingering shots of contemporary life. There are no english subtitles however for this film, which appears to focus on a local painter liu xiaodong and some of the models he uses from among the local population, including han sanming, who appears in. In still life, his figures interact against one of his most evocative landscapes. Uncertainty is at the stem of jia zhangkes still life and it molds itself into many forms uncertainty as to what chinas economic boom holds for its future, displaced people uncertain whether they will ever see those they have lost again, and uncertainty over whether love that is broken uncertainty is at the stem of jia zhangkes still life and it molds itself into. Once on the lido in venice, out of season, i was one of nine people in the audience as an old lady in spangles rode around the ring on a discouraged pony. A town in fengjie county is gradually being demolished and flooded to make way for the three gorges dam. Jias early films, a loose trilogy based in his home province of shanxi, were made outside of chinas state. The twodisc edition of the film includes jia zhangke s documentary dong 68 mins, filmed simultaneously at the time of still life. Jia zhangke by walter salles 2014 watch hot english.
Festival programming is always a matter of timing, taste, desperation, politics and logistics, not to mention worthiness. Although it probably wont be immediate so the scores on each site have time to settle and arent overly influenced by the early, usually much more opinionated, users. More recently, jia has tackled the true crime genre with the propulsive a touch of sin 20 and attempted a full blown emotional epic in the form. The two stories are sides of the same coin the world of the developer and his associates, and the world of the workers who do the demolitions for only 50 yuan a day. In his 2006 film, still life, jia zhangke creates an. While there is a plot and characters, this picture also captures a specific moment in time and records a pronounced and profound shift in the chinese landscape and the culture around the three. With eddie marsan, joanne froggatt, karen drury, andrew buchan. Its all a question of architecture, of creation against destruction, of space in a big country, of small details pointing to monuments, of people and objects interleaving themselves from afar. Jia zhangkes hyperlink portrayal of the effects of urbanization on rural china is made beautiful by sweeping camera movements and lingering shots of contemporary life. A miner and a nurse face lifechanging choices when they return to their chinese village. In his 2006 film, still life, jia zhangke creates an enigmatic case study of alienation and displacement. Jia and two collaborators, sun jianmin and guan na, still life unfolds as a series of minor events and incidental bits and pieces with little obvious connective tissue. Jia zhangkes ash is purest white is a frustrating epic. He is generally regarded as a leading figure of the sixth generation movement of chinese cinema, a group that also includes such figures as wang xiaoshuai and zhang yuan.
Jia zhangke, a leading member of chinas sixth generation of filmmakers, started off in the 1990s making underground films, without government support or authorization. Ash is purest white, the english title of jia zhangkes exquisite and ferocious new movie, references a conversation between a woman, qiao zhao tao, and her boyfriend, bin liao fan, as. Ash is purest white, the english title of jia zhangkes exquisite and ferocious new movie, references a conversation between a woman, qiao zhao. Jia zhangke on ash is purest white, his most expensive. A council case worker looks for the relatives of those found dead and alone. Uncertainty is at the stem of jia zhangke s still life and it molds itself into many forms uncertainty as to what chinas economic boom holds for its future, displaced people uncertain whether they will ever see those they have lost again, and uncertainty over whether love that is broken uncertainty is at the stem of jia zhangke s still life and it molds itself into many forms. Jia zhangke s still life 2006 stands somewhat at the intersection of the directors earlier, more distinctly fictional, narrative films, and with his more recent, documentary style releases. May 11, 2018 a long and melancholy summation of better movies the brilliant jia zhangke has made before, ash is purest white finds chinas most prominent filmmaker wistfully replaying the hits in order. Anyone following the early films of jia zhangke would have pegged the mainland chinese wunderkind as a realist, fixated on the gritty textures and languid rhythms of provincial life. Still life is a coproduction between the shanghai film studio and xstream pictures. Still life is actually in many ways a depiction of lives frequently in flux.
Good people of the three gorges is a 2006 chinese film directed by jia zhangke. During the 63rd venice film festival last month, chinese mainland director jia zhangke walked away. He has been married to tao zhao since january 7, 2012. Workers past is wiped away in jia zhangkes film the.
Jia zhangkes still life 2006 stands somewhat at the intersection of the directors earlier, more distinctly fictional, narrative films, and with his more recent, documentary style releases. Reflections on transformation of chinese society, towns, family, the cultural revolution and globalization americanization. Shot in the old village of fengjie, a small town on the yangtze river which is slowly being destroyed by the building of the three gorges dam, still life tells the story of two people in. Jan 31, 2008 jia zhangke s still life, a deeply felt and quietly impressive film, was the winner of the golden lion at last years venice film festival, and features the superb and elegant actress zhao tao.
Dec 09, 2008 jia is a great director, and much of still lifes power comes from the way he depicts his characters moving through the landscape an environment of crowded ferries, collapsed buildings, small. Labeled a member of the sixth generation of directors, jia. Joanne froggatt and eddie marsan in still life h ere is a sombre, sympathetically observed, if finally sentimental movie from italian filmmaker uberto pasolini, known for producing the full monty. There is something about a onering circus or a rundown theme park that appeals to me. We will update the article ifwhen a new movie by zhangke jia is released. Jia zhangkes still life is a prime example of the effectiveness of observational filmmaking and how the weight of the subject alone and its themes can. I ate sugarcoated peanuts and wept inside, perhaps from joy. Zhangke jia celebrity profile check out the latest zhangke jia photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. As with other films by jia zhangke some of the best include platform, the world 2004, and 24 city 2008, there are moments of art film whimsey.
Jan 20, 2008 jia zhangke, the director of still life, looks at his country and sees an enormous, rapidly changing movie set. A man and woman visit the town to locate their estranged spouses, and become witness to the societal changes. It was worth the wait for jia zhangkes i wish i knew. Find showtimes, watch trailers, browse photos, track your watchlist and. Jia zhangke on ash is purest white, his most expensive film. Popculture references may still be the main point of departure for several of the characters, but theres now a positive element to jias view. Jia zhangke s short film for greenpeace east asia depicts the effects of air pollution in northeast china, a region frequently blanketed in dangerous levels of air pollution. Jia zhangkes still life to speak about what we dont know poor theory is both daunting and exhilarating. Through the use of space, both literal and figurative, and long, extended takes that expand the perception of time zhangke tells the story. More recently, jia has tackled the true crime genre with the propulsive a touch of sin 20 and attempted a fullblown emotional epic in the form.
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