Caught by the Tides

In 2001, Qiaoqiao, a factory worker with dreams of becoming a singer and model, falls in love with her manager Bin. A few years later, he runs away to try his luck in a bigger city, and Qiaoqiao goes looking for him.Travelling through communities displaced by the Three Gorges Dam, Bin tries his hand at a number of businesses, including mafia ones. When Qiaoqiao finally finds him, their relationship takes an unexpected turn.

Jia Zhang-Ke delivers an epic look at the romantic odyssey of his eternal heroine, Qiaoqiao. Spanning two decades, he uses extracts from his own films, which he (re)edits to capture the tidal wave of social and economic upheaval that has swept China, and to offer an insight into individual experiences in a context of extreme change.A masterful work about time, dreams and loss of self.

A Touch of Sin (BM14), 24 City (BM09), Dong (BM07), In Public (BM07), Plaisirs inconnus (BM07), Platform (BM07), Still Life (BM07), The World (BM07), Xiao Wu, artisan pickpocket (BM07).

Cinémathèque Suisse / Loïc Valceschini / loic.valceschini@cinematheque.ch