Mountains May Depart
Shan he gu ren
Every new Jia Zhangke film since Platform (2000) has asked: what does China’s rapid economic expansion mean for Chinese people’s relationships? His answers have never been optimistic, but the psychopathology in A Touch of Sin (2013) suggested the country is teetering on the brink.
Mountains May Depart (2015) can also be viewed as a diagnosis of China’s state of mind, yet in spite of the epic scope that depicts the characters in changing aspect ratios in their past, present and future, it is a remarkably intimate film. Starting in 1999, to the sound of Pet Shop Boys’ Go West, we gain insight into the life and loves of Shen Tao, a dance instructor who attempts to secure her future by marrying a rich businessman. The tepid relationship with their son Dollar, who – in 2025 – lives in Australia and hardly speaks Chinese anymore, illustrates the disappearance of close mutual ties. “View it as a warning”, says the maker.
Film details
- Countries of production
- China, France, Japan
- Year
- 2015
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2016
- Length
- 120"
- Medium/Format
- DCP
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