Jia zhangke best movies

Zhang-ke Jia China, , raised in the mining region of Shanxi province, studied painting and literature before entering the Beijing Film Academy. The film is a document of the rapid transformation of China. We not only see the transformation of people, as old manners including stealing become obsolete and senseless during the economic boom that creates so many business opportunities, but also the transformation of the urban landscape, as the old dirty narrow alleys and homes are replaced by modern buildings.

The pickpocket is representative of those who don't get a chance, because of bad luck and because of weak will. The pickpocket has a moment of strength when he could start a new life, but he is surrounded by criminals, prostitutes and old-fashioned parents, and they all make it difficult for him to be honest. They are doomed to be treated like dogs.

The thief in the last scene, after being betrayed by the prostitute and by his own parents, is tied by the cop to the sidewalk like a dog. The film is set in the crowded and noisy neighborhood of a city.

Still life jia zhangke

A young man, Xiao Wu, steals a wallet on a bus. He then meets his friends, who are all pickpockets. A friend of his, who has reformed and started a legal business and doesn't hang out with him anymore, is getting married and Xiao Wu has not been invited to the wedding, despite the fact that even the neighborhood cop is invited. Television, radio and loudspeakers placed around town keep repeating the government mantra of a crackdown on theft.

Xiao visits his brother, who has a little child, and learns that the whole block of homes will be demolished soon. Xiao keeps the money of the wallets that he stole but drops in the mailbox all the id cards, which the cop then returns. Xiao prepares a packet of banknotes and visits the friend who is getting married: the packet is his wedding gift, but the friend doesn't want it.

The friend has moved on and Xiao belongs to a past that he wants to erase. Xiao hires a prostitute to play karaoke but is in a bad mood and she tries in vain to make him smile.