Overview

Jia Zhangke on Jia Zhangke is an extended dialogue between film scholar Michael Berry and the internationally acclaimed Chinese filmmaker. Drawing from extensive interviews and public talks, this volume offers a portrait of Jia's life, art, and approach to filmmaking. Jia and Berry's conversations range from Jia's childhood and formative years to extensive discussions of his major narrative films, including the classics Xiao Wu, Platform, The World, Still Life, and A Touch of Sin. Jia gives a firsthand account of his influences, analyzes the Chinese film industry, and offers his thoughts on subjects such as film music, working with actors, cinematography, and screenwriting. From industry and economics to art and politics, Jia Zhangke on Jia Zhangke represents the single most comprehensive document of the director's candid thoughts on the art and challenges of filmmaking.

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9781478018124

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Reviews

“Few directors in today’s pantheon of auteurs are as eloquent, revealing, and analytical in talking about their own films as Jia Zhangke. He has a rare ability to convey the core emotions and commitments to honesty and truth that have always driven his filmmaking practice. Throughout, we get a sense of Jia as a whole person who is open to all kinds of artistic, intellectual, and emotional influences as long as they help him show the truths of the world around him. This volume is a treasure trove.” -- Jason McGrath, author of * Postsocialist Modernity: Chinese Cinema, Literature, and Criticism in the Market Age * “Truly a dream project: one of our most sensitive and dedicated scholars of contemporary Chinese culture and cinema, Michael Berry, in a series of in-depth conversations with one of today’s most essential filmmakers, Jia Zhangke. Jia has always been enormously generous in analyzing and discussing his work, and Berry exhibits a great talent for moving the conversation from the films themselves to larger concerns about a constantly changing China. Essential reading for anyone in the field—and beyond.” -- Richard Peña, Professor of Professional Practice, Film, Columbia University, and Director Emeritus, New York Film Festival ""By capturing Jia’s lively discussion and anecdotes (Berry dutifully tells us when Jia laughs or the audience at a public conversation cheers), he presents a vivid and moving portrait of Jia as fiercely intellectual, literary and introspective, as well as a humorous and inspiring model for film students."" -- Jeremy Stone * International Examiner * “Berry’s compilation supplements and refreshes our understanding of Jia’s film works. . . . Berry’s book, full of fascinating insights into Jia’s creative style, unearths one aspect essential in understanding Jia, that is, the ‘accent’ of a film.” -- Ziheng Zhou * Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television * ""Berry’s book is a stunning study of one of China’s most acclaimed filmmakers. . . . Part autobiography, part foray into film studies, part cultural commentary, it is a richly rewarding read for anyone interested in cinema or contemporary China. The topics of discussion, like the scenes and characters in Jia’s films, are distinctly Chinese yet carry universal resonance."" -- Yangyang Cheng * Los Angeles Review of Books *

Few directors in today's pantheon of auteurs are as eloquent, revealing, and analytical in talking about their own films as Jia Zhangke. He has a rare ability to convey the core emotions and commitments to honesty and truth that have always driven his filmmaking practice. Throughout we get a sense of Jia as a whole person who is open to all kinds of artistic, intellectual, and emotional influences as long as they help him show the truths of the world around him. This volume is a treasure trove. -- Jason McGrath, author of * Postsocialist Modernity: Chinese Cinema, Literature, and Criticism in the Market Age * Truly a dream project: one of our most sensitive and dedicated scholars of contemporary Chinese culture and cinema, Chris Berry, in a series of in-depth conversations with one of today's most essential filmmakers, Jia Zhangke. Jia has always been enormously generous in analyzing and discussing his work, and Berry exhibits a great talent for moving the conversation from the films themselves to larger concerns about a constantly changing China. Essential reading for anyone in the field-and beyond. -- Richard Pena, Professor of Film and Media Studies, Columbia University and Director Emeritus, New York Film Festival

Few directors in today's pantheon of auteurs are as eloquent, revealing, and analytical in talking about their own films as Jia Zhangke. He has a rare ability to convey the core emotions and commitments to honesty and truth that have always driven his filmmaking practice. Throughout, we get a sense of Jia as a whole person who is open to all kinds of artistic, intellectual, and emotional influences as long as they help him show the truths of the world around him. This volume is a treasure trove. -- Jason McGrath, author of * Postsocialist Modernity: Chinese Cinema, Literature, and Criticism in the Market Age * Truly a dream project: one of our most sensitive and dedicated scholars of contemporary Chinese culture and cinema, Michael Berry, in a series of in-depth conversations with one of today's most essential filmmakers, Jia Zhangke. Jia has always been enormously generous in analyzing and discussing his work, and Berry exhibits a great talent for moving the conversation from the films themselves to larger concerns about a constantly changing China. Essential reading for anyone in the field-and beyond. -- Richard Pena, Professor of Professional Practice, Film, Columbia University, and Director Emeritus, New York Film Festival By capturing Jia's lively discussion and anecdotes (Berry dutifully tells us when Jia laughs or the audience at a public conversation cheers), he presents a vivid and moving portrait of Jia as fiercely intellectual, literary and introspective, as well as a humorous and inspiring model for film students. -- Jeremy Stone * International Examiner * Berry's compilation supplements and refreshes our understanding of Jia's film works. . . . Berry's book, full of fascinating insights into Jia's creative style, unearths one aspect essential in understanding Jia, that is, the 'accent' of a film. -- Ziheng Zhou * Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television *

Author Information

Michael Berry is Director of the Center for Chinese Studies and Professor of Contemporary Chinese Cultural Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author, editor, and translator of several books, including Jia Zhangke’s Hometown Trilogy, A History of Pain: Trauma in Modern Chinese Literature and Film, and Speaking in Images: Interviews with Contemporary Chinese Filmmakers.

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