Still Life
Director: Zhang Ke JiaChina, 2006, Mandarin w/English subtitles
Fengjie‚ the old town is already under water, but its new neighbourhood hasn't been finished yet. There are things to salvage and there are things to leave behind‚ Han Sanming, a miner, travels to Fengjie to look for his ex-wife whom he has not seen in 16 years. Seeing each other by the Yangtze River, they decide to remarry. Shen Hong, a nurse, travels to Fengjie to look for her husband who hasn't come home in two years. They hug in front of the Three Gorges Dam. Despite a dance, they sadly call it quits and decide to divorce.
Winner of the top award at 2006 Venice Festival, this sober look at the human price of inevitable technological changes (building of dam on Yangtze River) continues Jia Zhang-ke's exploitation of his recurrent concern with tradition versus modernity.
Screening:
Oct 4/Saturday at 3:00pm - Kennesaw State University
Oct 5/Sunday at 3:00pm - Georgia State University-Cinefest