Shijie (2004)
Genre: Drama
Duration: 136 minuten
Alternative titles: 世界 / The World
Country:
China / Japan / France
Directed by: Jia Zhang-ke
Stars: Tao Zhao, Cheng Taishen and Jue Jing
IMDb score:
7,1 (3.759)
Releasedate: 1 September 2004
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Shijie plot
At Beijing World Park, Tao happily dances and sings to the audience every day, while her friend Taisheng is one of the theme park security guards. Like her fellow dancers Xiaowei and Youyou, she finds herself at a crossroads in her relationship, while Taisheng is drawn to fashion designer Qun.
Actors and actresses
Tao
Taisheng
Wei
Niu
Qun
Sanlai
Tao's ex-boyfriend
Erxiao
Youyou
Anna
Reviews & comments
stephan73
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- 6269 messages
- 14471 votes
Unknown Pleasures was nice, but in my opinion not fully developed. Shijie is a lot better in that respect.
Although this was also shot with a digital camera, it works more smoothly, thanks to better editing and good use of music.
The "stories" also fascinated me here more than in UP, it is nice to see how worldly problems are dealt with in that amusement park.
3.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Vinokourov
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- 3143 messages
- 2909 votes
Hmm, Shijie is a long shot and it has its pros and cons. I'll start with the latter. The story (the relationship of a young couple is quite bumpy) failed to grab my attention at all. It's quite soapy and after the umpteenth time that one person has issues with the other's mobile phone behavior or wants to know where they have been, I would have seen it.
Fortunately, there is still something left of the film that is worth seeing! Director Zhang Ke Jia meticulously shows what Chinese society looks like. Sometimes it is hard to fathom, but it does seem realistic. The setting in which the meager story takes place helps. It is an amusement park (a hideous Madurodam version but aimed at the whole world), whose motto is: "See the world, without leaving Beijing!" That still produced some nice atmospheric images during the long playing time.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Spetie
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- 38871 messages
- 8251 votes
Zhangke Jia knows how to create a beautiful visual world in Shijie. The film mainly takes place in a large theme park in Beijing, where the world with all its large buildings has been simulated, as it were. I didn't even know such a thing existed, but it certainly looks impressive. This gives you, as a Chinese, the opportunity to have your photo taken with the Eiffel Tower, without having to go to France. This park makes the Chinese long for (Western wealth) and although the protagonists in the film can almost touch this by working in the park, they remain poor.
However, the content is not always strong and there are too many side plots here and there. Visually it is not only beautiful thanks to the location, but Zhangke Jia also has other nice ideas. When people in Shijie receive a text message, they suddenly switch from live-action to animation. That looks very nice. Yet this film is slightly inferior to Still Life, which I saw a week and a half ago. In terms of content it is slightly less powerful. Sometimes it takes just a little too long. Still, I quite enjoyed this at times and Zhangke Jia is a director who can give a simple story something extra thanks to his direction, as he also proves.
3.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
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