A Touch of Sin hits Berlin theatres on January 16.
Operating independently of the state-run Chinese production company, Still Life director Zhangke hammers home the mood of anger and disillusionment in Chinese society through the loosely connected stories of a rural man (Jiang), a high-end prostitute (Li), a man returning home to the city of Chongqing and a labourer working a grim production line. They’re all at their wits’ end and act accordingly. Shot with marvellous scale, A Touch of Sin is violent, blaring with conviction and strikingly subversive.
A Touch of Sin | Directed by Jia Zhangke (China 2013) with Wu Jiang, Vivien Li. Starts January 16
Originally published in issue #123, January 2014.