The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
Features  |  Reviews
FIND MOVIES
Find a Movie
Movie List
Loading ...
or
Find Theaters and Movie Times
or
Search Movies
Nominate-best-2010

2009: The year in movies

By PETER KEOUGH  |  December 28, 2009

 

7. 24 City
Developers tear down a factory to build the complex of the title, tossing out the workers. It's a familiar scene, both here and in China, but Jia Zhang-ke shapes it into a cinematic poem about identity and loss. The stories of six of the ex-workers, as related by professional actors, are intercut with surreal images of the actual, Mao-era structure as it is torn down. In one sequence, tiny figures carry off the enormous Chinese characters from the sign over the gate; they look like leafcutter ants razing a tree. Jia matches his visuals with the reflexivity of his dramatized "interviews." A worker who is nicknamed "Little Flower" because she looks like the title character in the 1979 Zhang Zheng film is depicted by Joan Chen — who played Little Flower in the original movie.

< prev  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |  10  |   next >
Related: , , , More more >
  Topics: Features , Celebrity News, Entertainment, John Hillcoat,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
HTML Prohibited
Add Comment

ARTICLES BY PETER KEOUGH
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   REVIEW: EDGE OF DARKNESS  |  February 02, 2010
    A new genre is emerging in which aging A-list actors play fathers off on a rampage to rescue their daughters or avenge their deaths.
  •   REVIEW: FROZEN  |  February 03, 2010
    A storm is coming, the girl has to pee, and then things get much worse.
  •   KAREN SCHMEER: 1970-2010  |  February 02, 2010
    Karen Schmeer, the brilliant local film editor whose work on Errol Morris's documentary The Fog of War helped win it the Best Documentary Oscar in 2004, died January 29 in a tragic accident, struck by a getaway car as she was crossing a street in Manhattan. She would have turned 40 on February 20.
  •   IS THERE 'HOPE' IN HOLLYWOOD?  |  January 29, 2010
    Buoyed by President Barack Obama's campaign slogan, many had hopes for change after his election.
  •   REVIEW: WAITING FOR ARMAGEDDON  |  January 27, 2010
    Much scarier than 2012 is this documentary about the death grip that fundamentalist religious groups have on American politics.

 See all articles by: PETER KEOUGH

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2010 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group