The World may be Jia Zhangke's first state-sanctioned film, but it still portrays the same China I saw in Unknown Pleasures (the only other film of his I've seen to date), a China filled with poverty, migrant workers, and listless youth. The trick here is that it's shot in and around the World theme park in Beijing, which simulates the experience of travel without having to go anywhere, with airliner "rides" and smaller-scale monuments from around the world in front of which you can take your holiday snaps. The location adds an oddity to many scenes, and in a way makes the story more universal. It could happen anywhere, and seems to. But the bigger metaphor is that the characters are starved for travel, for achievement, for progress, but are stuck in place. But while I respect the premise, I'm not all that engaged in the stories of these park workers. Love affairs fraught with jealousy, a friend from home looking for work, a strange and kind of wonderful ending that's just a little too abrupt... It made ME listless. Oh well.
Felt like the state assigned the director to make a film promoting a national theme park, so he just improvised one. Scene by scene. I lasted about an hour before I couldn't bear it any longer. I keep hoping to see a film that encourages me to see MORE Chinese cinema rather than less.
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Siskoid
The World may be Jia Zhangke's first state-sanctioned film, but it still portrays the same China I saw in Unknown Pleasures (the only other film of his I've seen to date), a China filled with poverty, migrant workers, and listless youth. The trick here is that it's shot in and around the World theme park in Beijing, which simulates the experience of travel without having to go anywhere, with airliner "rides" and smaller-scale monuments from around the world in front of which you can take your holiday snaps. The location adds an oddity to many scenes, and in a way makes the story more universal. It could happen anywhere, and seems to. But the bigger metaphor is that the characters are starved for travel, for achievement, for progress, but are stuck in place. But while I respect the premise, I'm not all that engaged in the stories of these park workers. Love affairs fraught with jealousy, a friend from home looking for work, a strange and kind of wonderful ending that's just a little too abrupt... It made ME listless. Oh well.chryzsh
Real slow cinemaEbbywebby
Felt like the state assigned the director to make a film promoting a national theme park, so he just improvised one. Scene by scene. I lasted about an hour before I couldn't bear it any longer. I keep hoping to see a film that encourages me to see MORE Chinese cinema rather than less.