Features

Jiang hu er nü

Asche ist reines Weiß
Jia Zhangke
China, FRA, Japan 2018
136 min
V'18

Spanning the 21st century so far, the story follows the low-level criminal Bin and his girlfriend Qiao as, in various cities across China, they are separated by unequal prison sentences, distance and estrangement. As their destinies and fortunes change, their paths uneasily align again. Jia’s latest film is, above all, the study of a complex female character, brilliantly incarnated by Tao Zhao. When we first see her in 2001, Qiao is not a stereotypical “gangster’s moll”: she is mature, resourceful, part of the daily activities of Bin’s criminal mob. When set adrift, alone and penniless, she intuitively scams her way across the country, like the rogue hero of a road movie. Qiao also embraces the criminal code of loyalty and righteousness – sometimes to her own detriment. In ASH IS PUREST WHITE, Jia once again explores his well-developed taste for sudden temporal ellipsis, naturalistic staging, understated expressive effects, sidelong stories, gaudy pop music, and the occasional burst of special-effects fantasy. Focused on both the historical big picture and the individual emotional plane, he gravitates to characters who cling to “values” in a world that steadily erodes all value. (Adrian Martin)

Credits
  • Yi’nan Diao
  • Tao Zhao - Qiao
  • Fan Liao - Bin
  • Jia Zhangke
  • Eric Gautier
  • Ton Nikolas Javelle
  • Gwennolé Le Borgne
  • Matthieu Laclau
Xstream Pictures, Huanxi Media, MK2 Productions, Beijing Runjin, Office Kitano, Shanghai Film Grou, Weltvertrieb MK2 Films
DCP
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