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.
"Jia's tenderness for his characters is infused with a quiet rage: as the wide-screen views freeze them in a confining emptiness, dead zones of action and dialogue suggest a land where imagination itself has been suppressed."
— Richard Brody
"While the film feels overlong at two hours 20 minutes, there's a seductive stillness to its enveloping mood, with much to appreciate in the sureness of hand with which Jia allows his scenes the time to breathe."
— David Rooney
At Beijing World Park, a bizarre cross-pollination of Las Vegas and Epcot Center where visitors can interact with famous international monuments without ever leaving the city’s suburbs, a security guard betrays his dancer girlfriend by pursuing another woman.
Tao is a performer at the Beijing World Park, a theme park based on famous monuments around the world. While she stays in the capital with one of the guards, her jealous boyfriend Taisheng, she tries to deal with the people around her leaving the park for greener pastures.
The location. Honestly, maybe one of the reasons why the film was approved was because it did show how interesting this theme park is.
Booking my tickets to Beijing to visit this park… As well as mull over the way the world has been feeling this disconnected for nearly a quarter of a century already.
Venice
1 nomination
