The other day I watched a recent film by Jia Zhangke which was a pleasant surprise, but the only reason I discovered that film was from having Ash Is Purest White in mind. Lately I've been thinking about it a lot and really wanting to give it another watch and see how it holds up now that I have a different perspective on filmmaking from the previous years. I've really been craving these sorts of crime and drama films from Asia as of late; where a few years back there was a great number of these films popping up at various film festivals, each tackling this concept of the changing landscape within mainland China in particular, showcasing its harsh realities within the industrial and post-industrial towns and cities which crumbled as the nation elsewhere shifted its interests, leaving these locations behind with a strong nostalgia and set of struggles. They're very delicate films in that sense, ones that speak on the changing times and the people left behind within locations stuck in the past.
Rewatching this definitely was an interesting revisit. I saw a lot of scenes that were shot around the same time as the ones used in the previous film I saw called Caught by the Tides, though they were not reused scenes or takes, just ones of the same location in which the same actors or actresses were used, in the same clothing. Moments like this did pull me out of the story a bit having known that the director had used footage from his previous films in his more recent one, though it didn't pull me out of the immersion of its world and narrative. Not changing how I saw and felt about the film in that sense. Though I could see how someone might watch one and then the other and find something off with it. Not really a problem with the film itself, after all. Just that realisation of its world being a film and not a story with living, breathing people which sometimes we all come to love with storytelling through film.
Revisiting the film came with a bit of reading about the director and the film's general concept. I was quite surprised to see that, much like many of his other films, this is a story that is heavily influenced by his own life. Having witnessed so many different stories unfolding within his town growing up, which also grew a bit of an obsession for him with capturing the region around Datong. Adventuring beyond and seeing what other stories he would find in old industrial zones. What's more surprising here is that the story surrounds the leader of a gang, to which the director stated he was actually quite admirable of growing up. This sets up a powerful protagonist for sure, one in which we can find admiration for, seeing his power but also respecting the more human side of. Thus bringing us to the romance side of the film's genre.
With the changing economic times of Datong, which relied once heavily on its coal mining, not much promise remains within the city. Thus bringing attention more to the money to be made in more illegal terms. Troubled times for a dramatic group of crime syndicates leads to our protagonist falling for a woman. The two thinking of what to do next, whether they should flee the dangerous environment, get married and start anew. Though the woman doesn't display any interest in leaving. Naturally, you can imagine what happens next. This isn't a story that easily falls into place for its characters, particularly ones caught up in the violence of crime. The man's boss recently murdered instilling more fear into him as he sees no future where he currently is. Ultimately, the film is more on two people that wanted to be together but saw no real manner of being so. Where their lives are so vastly different that they never quite find that inner peace within themselves to connect.
Bin, our male protagonist, is a troubled man that wants out. Constantly in search of a way to leave Datong, and constantly trying to find way to have Qiao by his side in doing so, but the tough climate of Datong leads to her imprisonment having taken the fall for an illegal firearm that belonged to Bin. Bin stays far away from her during her sentence, which is what sours their relationship for good. Having not supported her for taking the fall, where her loyalty was stronger than he deserved. This creates the film's structure in which the narrative explores their struggled attempt to start and close a relationship as Bin moves on in life, attempting to put his past behind him, which included her.
The story takes us through the various landscapes around Datong. Itself rundown and tired. A city that holds no future for anyone. Where its previous coal mining operations have fallen and left nothing but old buildings from the previous era. Natural landscapes of nothing. They hold great beauty but can be seen as a trap, a large wall of mountains which keeps them stuck within the same spaces. Incapable of growing beyond. From a directing point of view it's a beautiful film through that. Its very textural and real environments that show the isolation the characters feel. Bin in his desperation to move away and start his new life, and Qiao having lost a few years of her life for a man she believed actually wanted to live with her. In some ways it shows how these two characters are what they need from each other, but can't seem to find that common ground to settle.
Despite being a film surrounded by the concept of crime, it felt more like a film that speaks on the struggles to live and love. Where pasts keep returning. An environment keeps pulling them back in despite their attempts to move forward. It shows how an environment does shape us, how it can control us and keep us down.
