World (2004) [Blu-ray]

Essential viewing for anyone interested in Chinese film, as well as a great look at current Chinese culture.Highly recommended.

I wanted to like this one, I really did, the setting was brilliant, a theme park in the suburbs of Beijing, China that is sort of like Epcot or Vegas without the casinos, where Chinese citizens and tourists can visit the world in one place, including a mini Eiffel Tower, Egyptian Pyramid, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Manhattan skyline, they can even experience a replica of an actual plane (that would probably get dated pretty fast with the modernisation of China and more citizens being able to fly in real ones) but anyway the world can be seen without leaving Beijing. The theme park itself was interesting, I'd definitely go check it out if I went to Beijing (there's a real one there, also one in Hong Kong). I've been to the actual versions of these monuments and I found it weird but fascinating that tourists are doing the same thing as when visiting those places in the actual countries such as putting your hand in the circle thing in Rome to see if its mouth shuts and traps your hand if you've been lying, trying to pose for a photo so it looks like you're holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa.But the movie wasn't very interesting, you're pretty much a fly on the wall to employees every day conversations. You can sit the staff room of wherever you work and experience the same sort of thing. Doesn't matter that they're Chinese compared to whatever country your living in, they are the same ones in this film. We start off with a girl being surprise visited by her male friend who is about to travel to Mongolia, departing from Beijing, visiting from whatever rural town they are from, of course her new boyfriend who is a park security guard finds out and needs to force himself into the catch up, hang around like a bad smell and offers to drive the friend to the airport. Who hasn't had that happen to them or seen that to someone you work with? Then there's a guy whose friend again is paying a surprise visit to the theme park who has come to Beijing because he met a man who promised him construction work and wants to know why the theme park employee doesn't come home to visit his family. There's a guy who needs money so pretends he's collecting money owed to his brother. There's no plot or anything to the movie. It's like we're watching a documentary (or at least a mockumentary) of the lives of Chinese theme park workers in their 20's who have mostly moved to Beijing from a small town for a more exciting or economically better life. This could have based in any big city in any country, at any large employer. To be honest you just get bored of this one after a while.

AS THE FIRST BLURAY RELEASE OF JIA ZHANGKE'S WORKS, THIS IS SPLENDID WITH A FEW EXTRA FEATURES AND FAR BETTER IMAGE QUALITY THAN DVD EDITIONS. I SINCERELY HOPE "XIAOWU" "STILL LIFE" AND "UNKNOWN PLEASURES" WILL COME TO BLURAY SOON.

Beautifully filmed, this movie gives insight into the extraordinary world of Chinese theme park performers, the surreal imitation and emotionally dead world in which they find themselves, the pain of their lives, and the problem of trying to find a better future as modernity and progress rushes ahead but with nothing to offer beyond being a part of someone elses spectacle. This in one of those movies that transports you to a real world that you'd rather not be a part of, but in staying there a while you come out feeling richer in the end.

Chine, de nos jours. Près de Pékin s'étend un parc d'attractions où s'élèvent des copies de monuments du monde entier en modèle réduit (idéal pour les photos souvenir et moins cher qu'un voyage à Paris). Nous allons suivre la vie amoureuse d'une employée, Tao, et visiter le parc, avec son petit train, son ascenseur qui permet de scruter l'horizon depuis le sommet de la Tour Eiffel, ses spectacles kitsch, son environnement de banlieue en pleine recomposition, et sa pluie si triste.Passant (non sans mal) du statut de réalisateur fauché et non autorisé à celui de cinéaste exerçant son activité au grand jour, Jia Zhang-Ke signait avec The World (2004) un film attachant, qui ne tombe jamais dans le naturalisme plat : voir l'usage des séquences d'animation, et l'effet décalé (quasi-Fellinien) du décor qu'offre le parc. Ce décor permet de raconter une Chine des faux-semblants, du factice. Le « dialogue » entre Tao et une employée russe immigrée et exploitée, aucune des deux ne parlant la langue de l'autre, vaut tout un discours. Car le parc et sa poésie naïve sont l'endroit dont beaucoup de choses peu reluisantes sont l'envers. Refusant le didactisme du film à thèse, Jia Zhang-Ke essayait ici une méthode qu'il devait suivre encore dans Still Life (Lion d'or à Venise en 2006) Still life  et 24 city 24 city  : s'installer dans de vastes paysages, raconter sans en avoir l'air des vies qui se font et se défont.En complément, le très, très bon documentaire de Julien Selleron « Made in China », qui nous en apprend sur les conditions du tournage, permet aussi à Jia Zhang-Ke de dire quelques mots de ses modèles et surtout de préciser son projet, celui d'aider à constituer une mémoire visuelle de la Chine en transition, celle que la propagande et la censure ont empêché jusque là de voir naître. Il parle en particulier, avec simplicité et assurance, du « droit social de chaque citoyen à se libérer ». Il est impressionnant de voir Jia Zhang-Ke s'exprimer, lui qui contribue à créer un tel droit par l'obstination avec laquelle il l'exerce. Still life24 city

Impeccable, merci