"A laconic portrait of a remote Chinese city in arrested development." - Ed Gonzalez

The film examines the social changes in 1980's China--moving from Communist to a more open, economic system--by following a traveling performance group that starts off doing Maoist dramas and eventually ends up doing 80's pop.

Following an acting troupe through the decade of the 1980s, Jia's film tracks cultural, economic, and social changes in China. The film approaches its subjects in a low key manner, typical of Jia's style, though with less narrative arc than some of his later films. This invites engagement with the characters as they seek a firm footing in their lives. The ending is another of Jia's magnificent shots, with a slightly surreal musical choice that changes the entire tone of the scene. Wonderful.

Every shot in this film is exquisitely composed with a static camera and the occasional drifting pan. People speak very little and when they do it's often in Communist Party kant. The impact is weighty if the weight is primarily that of the movement of history and cultural change. The inner lives of characters are subjugated by that weight. The film's most moving moment is when the theater troupe cheers on a passing train and they're left standing on the empty tracks.

#721

Not merely a criticism of the relatively easy target of the cultural revolution; actually less narrowly didactic yet far more subversive, both to the Chinese government and the global economic system. And yeah, a heartfelt drama as well.

Long and uneventful. I guess it's just not for me.

I struggled with this. I picked up on a lot of themes involving a China going through transition, the young people caught between different eras. But I felt like the meaning of many scenes flew over my head, and there were stretches when I got restless. I didn't always have a handle on the characters and what they were going through. However, there were other moments that were very evocative and showed a lot of spark. I did like most of it, even when I felt like I was missing the point.

This film would be best appreciated by those who actually lived in late 70s and early 80s China. Great photography, but weak screenplay.

You've dated this film wrong.

Probably authentic, mostly boring, and every so often touches upon something of value. I'm happy to find that Jia has only improved since, and greatly at that.