The Three Gorges Dam, the largest man-made project in human history, has become a symbol of China's ambition to be a global superpower where some sacrifices are regarded as inevitable. Sound of hammering and sentimental pop ballads always in the background, Still Life's new urban development against picturesque mountains is nothing but still. It concerns two relationships being tested - the human cost of changing times. However small and trivial, Jia applies communal activities to connect people, dividing the film in to separate chapters - Cigarettes, Liquor, Tea and Toffee. Still Life, another one of his carefully composed, thoughtful narrative/doc hybrid on changing times in China, is very good indeed. #stilllife #jiazhangke #zhaotao #chinesecinema

A nostalgic docudrama about changing times in Chengdu. Jia blends interviews with real former factory workers & known actors playing them (Joan Chen and Zhao Tao) with the backdrop of the last days of state owned aeronautics factory. As in other Jia films, the main attraction here is its cinematography. Yu Lik-Wai's measured, slow tracking, panning and crane shots are beautiful without being romantic. 24 City is a quiet observation of time passing done masterfully. #jiazhangke #24city #zhaotao

The World Park, a never ending expo/theme park in the suburbs of Beijing is the setting for #JiaZhangKe's masterful take on rapidly changing China. He patiently observes & explores every part of the changing society in episodic storytelling, reminding us that behind all the garishness and excess, there are human stories hidden in there, obscured and overwhelmed by the 1/3 actual size Effel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, pyramids and camels and space ship-like karaoke bars. #ZhaoTao #chinesecinema

The integral structure of the film rested upon two notable considerations: One is temporal - I structured the film temporally around the Chinese New Year….
The other consideration was that of geography…. #jiazhangke #touchof sin #chinesecinema #zhaotao
Jia Zhangke on Touch of Sin:
http://www.dustinchang.com/2013/10/a-touch-of-jia-jia-zhangke-interview.html?m=1