May 20 Only: “Unknown Pleasures” follows three alienated young Chinese in 2021
At the Webster Film Series, writer/director Jia Zhangke masterfully captures the ennui of a media saturated younger generation
In “Unknown Pleasures,” only his third film, writer/director Jia Zhangke masterfully captures the ennui of a media saturated younger generation leaving tradition behind in their rudderless, inept attempts to transition into a modernizing country. Against a backdrop of catastrophic events in industrial Datong, China’s Shanxi Province, two nineteen year old men and a twenty-one year old woman ricochet off each other, flailing against their constrained, disenchanted lives. The film’s Chinese title translates as “Free From All Constraints,” an accurate, albeit ironic, description of their wishful thinking. In fact,
every detail of the central characters’ environment and temperament—from their conflicting emotions to their depressing goals—reveals their utterly circumscribed opportunities amidst negligible options.
The two young men, Bin Bin and his best friend Xiao Ji, live in cramped apartments, Bin Bin with his exasperated mother with ties to the outlawed Falun Gong, and Xiao Ji with his grumpy father. Xiao Ji becomes obsessively enamored of Qiao Qiao who dances and shills at various promotional events for the Mongolian King Liquor Company. Only Bin Bin’s on-again, off-again girlfriend Yuan Yuan has constructive, sensible ambition. She studies for exams, hoping to qualify for admission to prestigious Beijing University where she’ll study international trade. Meantime, Bin, Xiao, and Qiao meander aimlessly around Datong. Bin lies about being fired from the local textile mill, Xiao spends time riding his motorbike, both loaf at the derelict community center’s pool tables, and Qiao will soon clash quite violently with her lawless boyfriend Qiao San. When it turns out that Qiao carries a gun, events spiral downward from there. I’ll reveal no more details here since many unexpected events follow.
In addition to the increasingly desperate behavior and reckless decisions of these forlorn, despondent individuals, background action implicitly reveals the unproductive lives of numerous other young men. They gamble at cards, play random games and argue, hang out purposelessly and smoke practically nonstop, notably cheap Chinese cigarettes since, as they complain, they can’t afford the good American ones. Writer/director Jia lets music with yearning, aspirational lyrics about love do the talking at significant intervals, including the song that gives the films its American title. Nelson Lik-wai Yu, Jia’s regular cinematographer, often holds on long shots devoid of self-conscious flourishes. He also keeps the intrusive television announcements in the background, though they and influential U.S. films serve as catalysts for foolish decisions. A relatively naturalistic style adds impact to the whip pans in one meaningful conversation and in the quick shot of Qiao’s gun in a frantic discotheque scene.
Evolving from a digital short for a video competition, “Unknown Pleasures” gradually evolved into a feature. In a 2002 interview, Jia confirmed that he initially planned to shoot only Datong’s derelict factories in this historic coal mining town. Jia explained what happened. “At first it was the bleak and lonely buildings that attracted me. When I saw the streets filled with lonely, directionless people, I became interested in them.” His profile of alienated youth offers Jia’s empathetic insight into an unsympathetic environment. Of note: in an amusing cameo, writer/director Jia Zhangke plays the opera singer (perhaps a nod to a Hitchcock inspired cameo) and Xiao Wu, the title pickpocket thief from Jia’s first film, appears briefly in an early scene, led away by the police in handcuffs. In Mandarin and Jin Chinese with English subtitles, “Unknown Pleasures” screens at Webster University’s Winifred Moore auditorium one night only, Tuesday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m. that evening. For more information visit the film series website.