Both an intimate drama and an epic tale of nationalism, Mountains May Depart spans three different eras in this powerful examination of how China's economic boom has affected the bonds of family, tradition and love.
Opening in 1999 on the edge of the capitalist explosion in China, Mountains May Depart begins with small-town dance instructor Shen Tao spurning the shy, laborer Liangzi to marry the entrepreneur Zhang, with whom Shen Tao soon has a son, (whom he literally names Dollar.) As we follow the family into the future, Dollar becomes a symbol for the way the Chinese economic changes affected its citizen - through creating dreams and spurning diaspora. Often hailed as one of the greatest living filmmakers, Jia Zhangka (A Touch of Sin, Still Life) returns to PFF with his latest riveting masterpiece. Utilizing different aspect ratios to signify each of the film's three time periods, Mountains May Depart is equally beautiful in its craftsmanship and ambition, a film detailing the modern Chinese experience, fueled by a rapidly developing economy and uncertain future.
DIRECTOR: Jia Zhang-Ke CAST: Tao Zhao, Yi Zhang, Jing Dong Liang LANGUAGE: Cantonese, Mandarin, English COUNTRY: China, Japan, France YEAR: 2015 LENGTH: 131 min
