Caught by the Tides (2024)

[Drunk Monk]

This is another Jia Zhangke movie that was up for the Palm d’Or at Cannes last year. It took him over 20 years to make it. It’s the tale of a dysfunctional couple told in 3 eras and locations: Datong at the turn of the millennium, the 3 gorges flood zone & Guangdong, and back to Datong during the pandemic. The actors and the PRC physically age - not CGI. And it’s another existential tale that ends ambiguously, packed with visually stunning imagery like only Jia can capture. The contrast of the urban squalor with its stained paint-chipping walls and fading posters, the majesty of the Chinese panoramas, the authenticity of the common people, the moments of beauty amidst the chaos - it’s a slow burn but every frame is composed like a still life. The first act is uses faded colors and scratchy film with a cinema verite style. The second act is like an expanded version of Still Life ( https://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFo...p?tid=8495 ) that uses some of the same footage. The last act captures modern China, where I was last year, with its bullet trains, supermarkets and severe pandemic restrictions. 
Another masterpiece of an art film - not for everyone as existential art films from China are an acquired taste, but D00M recommended for sinophile cinephiles. Jia’s work is sublime - definitely a filmmaker you need to know if you profess any understanding of global cinema.