Still Life

A film set in the Three Gorges Dam region. The town of Fengjie is going under water. The demolition is under way: buildings are being taken apart by hand, people are moving out and most of the city is already rubble. Two people arrive. Sanming is a miner; he is looking for the wife and daughter he left sixteen years ago. The address is now under water. Shen Hong is a nurse; she is looking for a husband she has not heard from in two years. She has heard he set up a business here. Their paths do not cross. The film tells the two searches side by side, and both get an answer in the end; but the answer relieves nobody. At the centre is the demolition itself. The camera shows the workers on the rubble, the walls coming down and the rising water. The section titles come from everyday objects: cigarettes, liquor, tea, toffee. There are a few unexpected images; while the narrative proceeds realistically, something surreal happens and no explanation is offered. Jia Zhangke directed; the film won the Golden Lion in Venice. A powerful production for anyone who likes Chinese cinema and films about social change. For a viewer expecting pace, it is slow and there is almost no dialogue.