BuzzFlash Reviews
April 5, 2006
The World (DVD)
From China, a Film by Jia Zhangke
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It's time for a premium from our "Window to the World" series -- and this one is, appropriately, called "The World."
This is a film that you would never imagine coming out of mainland China. Just released in America in DVD, it is a combination of the surreal world of a real "Nations of the World" amusement park in Beijing and the realistic, often grim lives of the entertainers and guards who staff the park.
At times Las Vegas, at times Disney World, and mostly intriguingly realistic, "The World" shows a side of China that is as contemporary in its cinematic outlook as anything out of Europe or the States. Even video-game like animation and text messaging make appearances to increase the visual dazzle of the film.
But it's not the extravagant musical shows for the Chinese tourists that will engage you through this film that runs more than two hours; it is the stories of the young people who have fled the rural provinces in hope of finding jobs and careers in Beijing. Only later do they discover that the job market in Beijing is hardly upward mobile and, for most of them, they are stuck in place.
All the time, you are partaking of the surreal -- but real -- scenes of the story unfolding against the back drop of reproductions of the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids of Egypt, and, noticeably, Manhattan (still including the Twin Towers).
This is a captivating, innovative, film that breaks cinematic precedent, while never deviating from the basic responsibility of a film to tell a good story about real people (in this case, who work in a fantasy setting, that is nonetheless a real place unto itself).
The director of "The World" is considered one of China's most promising young craftsmen. This was the first film he was able to shoot with state approval and distribute within China. For five years prior to that, he was not allowed to officially make films in his home country.
Keep on an eye on Jia Zhangke, the director. This guy is zooming right to the top.
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