Unknown Pleasures

Unknown Pleasures is a fantastic film, but not one I would recommend to my friends. When you're used to seeing Hollywood film-making, it's difficult to watch a Chinese movie that makes other indy films look glitzy.

This is not a film that reaches out and grabs you. The camera keeps an unemotional distance from the characters at first, and only through the use of repetition and extended, unedited shots, does the filmmaker draw the viewer's attention to the subtle details which make this film so powerful.

The main characters dream in a world of American pop-culture and pro-Chinese propaganda, but the camera captures their bleak existence with devastating realism. Through his rejection of western cinematic techniques, the director brings this film brilliantly to life. Yet, for this very reason, many viewers will find it boring.