Review of Platform (2001) by Private U — 27 Mar 2008

Jia's movie looks at the changes sweeping China over the last 30-odd years through the ups and downs of a state-run theatre troupe. It's not an easy film to watch despite the straightforward premise; as usual Jia drags out the pacing, and packs in sharp observation while withholding judgement -- that is his (nuanced) strength.

But there is something even more meandering here than usual, especially towards the end, as though Jia were still finding his feet transitioning from single-character portraits like Xiao Wu to multi-strand narratives.

And Jia stalwart, actor Wang Hong-wei, was just much more mesmerising to watch as the defiant drifter of a pickpocket Xiao Wu.