(CHINA)
KEKEXILI: MOUNTAIN PATROL-
Lu Chuan

Based on a true story, Lu Chuan’s harrowing film is set in the Kekexili region of western China, near the Tibet border. In an area riddled with sophisticated poachers, the government has enlisted local Tibetans to patrol the mountains and try and stem the decline of antelope herds that may soon become extinct. A writer from Beijing assigned to do a story on the murder of one of the patrol members gains permission to be imbedded with a patrol as it sets out to track the poachers. Traveling for weeks, supplies and equipment dwindling, the Captain and his men face disaster, not from their prey, but an overpowering nature. “In search of the deeper truths, Lu Chuan creates an aesthetic so powerful and stark, so aware of human impotence, that he actually transcends the obvious moral dichotomy between poachers and patrolmen and evokes a vastly more profound sense of struggle. Employing a beautifully spare structure (imposed in part by unforgiving shooting conditions), Lu shows only the most essential moments, transforming a simple story into a breathtaking, visceral meditation on survival.”— Sundance Film Festival. (1:42:00) Print courtesy of Columbia Tri-Star International.

Filmography: The Missing Gun (01).

Showtimes:
11-02-2005 | 7PM | B1
12-02-2005 | 8.45PM | B1

THE WORLD - Jia Zhangke

“The latest triumph from Jia Zhangke is about people who aren't sure where they belong in the new, globalized world order. The story focuses on a young dancer and her security-guard boyfriend who work at a Beijing theme park, a weird cross between Las Vegas and the Epcot Center that offers scaled-down versions of famous landmarks—the Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, even the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Rather than dwell on the kitsch, Jia casts a compassionate eye on the daily loves, friendships, and desperate dreams of the provincial workers at World Park. They've come to the capital to get ahead in the big glamorous world but end up offering tourists surreal simulacra of the real thing. Sly, poetic, and pulsing with life, this funny, touching work confirms, yet again, that Jia is one of the new millennium's most inventive cinematic talents.”—New York Film Festival (2:23:00) Print courtesy of Zeitgeist Films.

Filmography: Pickpocket (97), Platform (00), Unknown Pleasures (02).

Showtimes:
13-02-2005 | 7.15PM | WH