24 City

I've got a new post up over at the Tisch Film Review, this time on Jia Zhang-ke's "24 City". It's the second time I'm written on this particular film (my original essay can be linked to through the new post), and it has become increasingly clear (especially after a second viewing) that his films in particular simply speak to me. Anyone who's familiar with my writing knows that the seemingly tenuous line between fact, documentary (never to be confused with fact) and fiction are my favorite breeding ground for critical thought - the dialectical relationship between these modes seems to me the only genuine way to respond to our increasingly complex modern world, with all of its twists and turns being constantly extrapolated through the lens of our most popular artistic medium. The seismic flow of capitalism, which is seemingly in direct conflict with the natural flow of people, has repercussions for us all, and sticking our heads in the sand isn't going to solve anything.