by Simon Ramshaw
There is a moment in Jia Zhangke’s “Platform” where an argument between a cynic and an idealist creates an unexpected glimpse of a bright future. One of the film’s central characters Cui Mingliang (Wang Hongwei) declares “the four modernisations: Industry, Agriculture, Defense and Science” will be embraced by China in the year 2000, and it’s no mistake that this statement is a bitterly ironic one for his little town. Taking place between 1979 and 1989, Jia’s second feature film looks at the fallout of the death of Mao Zedong and the formation of the People’s Republic of China, which leaves the performers of provincial Communist theatre troupes without the purpose they once had in Mao’s lifetime. Their stage plays are state-sanctioned propaganda that young and old alike attend in their droves, yet there is the pervasive feeling that this nostalgia will take them nowhere.
There is a moment in Jia Zhangke’s “Platform” where an argument between a cynic and an idealist creates an unexpected glimpse of a bright future. One of the film’s central characters Cui Mingliang (Wang Hongwei) declares “the four modernisations: Industry, Agriculture, Defense and Science” will be embraced by China in the year 2000, and it’s no mistake that this statement is a bitterly ironic one for his little town. Taking place between 1979 and 1989, Jia’s second feature film looks at the fallout of the death of Mao Zedong and the formation of the People’s Republic of China, which leaves the performers of provincial Communist theatre troupes without the purpose they once had in Mao’s lifetime. Their stage plays are state-sanctioned propaganda that young and old alike attend in their droves, yet there is the pervasive feeling that this nostalgia will take them nowhere.
- 1/25/2023
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
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