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24 City

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24 City
Cannes Film Festival poster
Directed byJia Zhangke
Written byJia Zhangke
Zhai Yongming
Produced byJia Zhangke
Shozo Ichiyama
Wang Hong
StarringJoan Chen
Lü Liping
Zhao Tao
Chen Jianbin
CinematographyYu Lik-wai
Wang Yu
Edited byLin Xudong
Kong Jinglei
Music byYoshihiro Hanno
Lim Giong
Distributed byMK2 Diffusion, The Cinema Guild (U.S. DVD)
Release dates
  • May 17, 2008 (2008-05-17) (Cannes)
  • March 6, 2009 (2009-03-06) (China)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryChina
LanguagesMandarin
Sichuanese
Shanghainese
Box office$396,044[1]

24 City (Chinese: 二十四城记/二十四城記; literally: The Story of 24 City) is a 2008 film directed and cowritten by Chinese film-maker Jia Zhangke. The film follows three generations of characters in Chengdu (in the 1950s, the 1970s and the present) as a state-owned factory gives way to a modern apartment complex. The film was also known as The Story of 24 City during production.[2]

The apartment complex featured in the film is an actual development (also called "24 City") built on the former site of an airplane engine manufacturing facility.[3] Jia will also produce a documentary about the location.[4]

The film's narrative style is described by critics as a blend of fictive and documentary story-telling, and it consists of authentic interviews and fictive scenes delivered by actors (but presented in a documentary format).[5]

24 City made its debut shown in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.[6] Film Comment, official journal of the Film Society of Lincoln Center listed the film at the end of 2008 as the second-best unreleased (without U.S. theatrical release) film of the year.[7]

Reception

The Hollywood Reporter called the film a "moving elegy to modern-day China" and said of the film's documentary strain that it "prevails to simple, yet emotionally reverberating effect".[8][9]

Time also reviewed the film favorably: "the film interweaves the political overview — of a city institution being torn down to be replaced by commercial and residential buildings — with personal anecdotes that are poignant and charming."[10]

Screen International states "the latest chapter in Jia Zhangke's chronicles of modern Chinese history is certain to reinforce the director's status as an international arthouse icon."[5]

The New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis gave the film a rave and stated "...the often amazing and intricately structured '24 City,' the latest from the Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke...shot in digital so sharp it looks hyper-real and projected digitally, the movie takes as its point of departure the closing of a state-owned munitions factory in southwest China... Mr. Jia is one of the most original filmmakers working today, creating movies about a country that seems like a sequel."[11]

Anthony Kaufman of IndieWIRE praised the film and states "Jia's masterful aesthetic remains consistent, mixing documentary and fiction with intriguing results."[12]

J. Hoberman of the Village Voice described the film as "so meaningfully framed that it could have been shot by Andy Warhol or Chantal Akerman",[13] and called the film as one of the stand-outs of this year's films in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.[13]

References

  1. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=24city.htm BOM
  2. ^ China Film Journal Staff (2008-03-26). "The World Is Not Enough: Has Jia Zhangke Permanently Left the Art House?". China Film Journal. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  3. ^ Jia, Zhangke; Phil Tinari (translator). "Moving Pictures". GOOD Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-01. {{cite web}}: |author2= has generic name (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Lee, Min (2007-04-04). "Films focus on factory upheaval". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-05-01. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ a b Dan Fainaru (2008-05-17). "24 City (Er Shi Si Cheng Ji)". Screen International. Retrieved 2008-07-13. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Leffler, Rebecca (2004-04-23). "Cannes unveils Competition lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 26, 2008. Retrieved 2004-04-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "FILM COMMENT'S END-OF-YEAR CRITICS' POLL". Film Comment. Archived from the original on 2009-01-22. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ ""24 City" a moving elegy to modern-day China". Reuters/Hollywood Reporter. 2008-05-18. Retrieved 2008-07-13. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ "Film Review: '24 City'". Hollywood Reporter. 2008-05-21. Archived from the original on 2008-06-02. Retrieved 2008-07-13. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Corliss, Richard (2008-05-17). "Cannes Gets Real". Time. Retrieved 2008-07-13. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Scott, A. O.; Dargis, Manohla (2008-05-19). "Reality Rudely Intrudes in the Screening Rooms". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-13. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Anthony Kaufman (2008-05-18). "Desplechin's "Tale" Stands Out In Competition, "Three Monkeys," "24 City," Also Impress". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
  13. ^ a b Jim Hoberman. "The Cannes Film Festival Thus Far". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2008-07-13. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)