There are plenty of unique locations captured on film, but it was such a brilliant idea from Jia Zhangke to film in the Beijing World Park for 2004’s The World. It’s almost as if it was made for the film, even though it was established ten years before this film’s release. The theme park became the perfect place for Jia to play with the themes that always captivated him– the alienation of China’s youth, but this time, vis a vis globalization and the freedom and knowledge that could be accessed through the click of a button. The setting immediately crafts the metaphor on its own, but on top of it, and Jia’s signature long takes and disorienting shots, the film also animated the inner worlds of the film’s central duo as if it was a colorful reprieve from the exploitative company they work for. The new setting and Jia’s experimentation prove to make The World an interesting snapshot of China at the time.