Caught by the Tides

A meditation on love and passing time; a woman searches for her lost lover within the rubble of a deconstructed city as well as her own shattered memory, the Three Gorges Dam consumes cities whole just as time swallows people, women sing and dance in joy and hurt, and dreams surface and submerge again. Lives are changing, and we often don't notice.

Utilizing primarily b-roll and outtakes from previous films, Zhang-ke weaves a cerebral and imaginative tale. While I wish the material was all new and put together with more of a cohesive story in mind, I can't deny that Zhang-ke has a magical and mesmerizing touch in all that he does, even in his wandering. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival.

I never tell about the plot on my review, you can find it everywhere! I watched this movie without knowing Nothing about it. So i thought "oh he is very clever ,he is using lots of old stock film to make it look like it was shot 20 years ago" and I thought "uhm this movie is way more experimental and artsy compared to his other movies". I watched this movie because I really enjoyed Mountain Might Depart and Ash Is Purest White and A Touch of Sin. And this one feels more like a collections of scenes, different styles all put together. It has somehow a dreaming, floating quality, it feels like a documentary and then it is also fiction, But it works, mostly because Zhao Tao has this magical presence on the screen and you look at her wondering what will she do next. After I finished I went online looking at reviews and discovered it is actually made with material the director shot before. If you are looking at this title it means that you are already open and ready to watch something different from USA mainstream movies. So I would definitely recommend this.

What I like about Jia Zhangke is that his works of Chinese cinema is highly interesting and something that feels so different to any other filmmakers in China. In many ways, using strange digital camera approaches, approaches on themes, the music, the characters and setting. This movie feels like a statement of his career, in a documentary and fiction fashion, it's a mesmerizing experience.

Using archive footage and blending both non-linear fiction and non-fiction, Zhangke presents a melancholic and avant-garde narrative and atmosphere that is filled with wonderful presentations and themes explored. Presenting characters, performances, music, and dialogue that feels realistic and almost as if you are observing the daily lives of an individual and nature of human beings.

Zhao Tao continues to shine with her natural performance and language with each scene she is displayed on, the soundtrack choices are interesting, and the whole fiction vs nonfiction scenario, while it will put off many viewers, I found it to be interesting and a great experiment of a story.

I don't suggest this as the first movie to watch for Jia Zhangke though, but I say it's amazing.

One of Jia Zhangke's best movies. The best of his works are mainly those documentary-like films with deep reflections on modern China and its ordinary, often invisible people caught in the tide of the country's transformation over the past four decades. I spent over 30 years in China, from 1980s to early 2010s. You may not find dramatic plots in this movie, but many of the scenes reflect what I experienced and witnessed there. This movie feels like a collage, bringing back memories of my life over the past three decades.

Most of the scenes feel both real and surreal from today's perspective-especially when you think about how fast and dramatically Chinese society has evolved, along with how people's lifestyles and mindsets have shifted with the tides of time.

Plot: Qiaoqiao and Bin, deeply in love, enjoy city life together through singing and dancing. Their happiness is cut short when Bin suddenly departs to seek opportunities elsewhere. Determined, Qiaoqiao sets out to find him.

Cannes film festival 2024 palme d'or nominee

A tranquil tale of loneliness,industralization through snippets of changing cities,depleted landscapes,strucures,songs,personal aspirations engraved deeply in the heart of China and it's people.

Jhangke juxtaposes scenes from his previous films to comply with the timelines covered in the film which fits in the narrative perfectly.