Jia Zhangke’s THE WORLD creates a microcosm of urbanization in a theme park
THE WORLD (SHI JIE) (Jia Zhangke, 2004)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Friday, August 31, 2:30, and Monday, September 3, 2:00
212-875-5601
www.filmlinc.com
Jia Zhangke’s fourth film (following Pickpocket, Platform, and Unknown Pleasures) is set in a Beijing theme park called the World, where people come to see miniature versions of major international cities and landmarks, including Paris, New York, London, and Tokyo, the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids, the World Trade Center, Big Ben, and the Eiffel Tower. The luminous Zhao Tao stars as Tao, a park dancer dating security guard Taisheng (Chen Taisheng). She becomes friendly with Anna, a Russian woman who has come to the park to make money so she can reunite with her daughter. However, dreams don’t always come true in this microcosm of urbanization. As Tao questions her relationship with Taisheng, he starts seeing Qun (Wang Yiqun), a fashion designer who makes knock-offs and is trying to return to her husband, who lives in Belleville. Meanwhile, Xiaowei (Jing Jue) is trapped in an abusive relationship with Niu (Jiang Zhongwei) that threatens to explode. The World is a charming little film, not looking to make any grand statements, just concentrating on the problems of ordinary people all over the globe who are struggling to survive financially, emotionally, and romantically. The World, which was shown at the 2004 New York Film Festival and was followed by such other fine Zhangke works as Still Life, Useless, and 24 City, is screening at the Walter Reade Theater as part of the ongoing series “50 Years of the New York Film Festival,” which continues with such NYFF vets as Cristi Puiu’s The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Jafar Panahi’s Offside, Carlos Reygadas’s Silent Light, and Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Once Upon a Time in Anatolia. Individual tickets for the fiftieth anniversary of the New York Film Festival, which runs September 28 through October 14, go on sale to the general public on September 9.