Caught by the Tides (2024)
This is the fourth film by Zhangke I have seen, and it is weird because I have rated all of them a medium 3 stars, but I keep coming back even though none of them have yet to really impress me. What sticks must comes down to Zhangke’s repeating themes of regular people caught in the wake of history. How big changes in society are impossible to escape. And it gives an unique insight into modern Chinese culture and self-reflection that I definitely wont find in western productions.
This film is probably the most experimental of them all, with barely a narrative and many scenes that are mostly just mood pieces. But they hit the mark precisely, especially the first half, with the scenes set in the early 2000s. It evoked an uncanny feeling of nostalgia for that time in me, despite the big cultural gap. The carefree nature with techno-parties of the beginning of the century contrasted with Covid-isolation in the second half of the film, is, I think, the core of this film. For me personally, the second half of the film didn’t evoke nearly as strong an emotional response from me, sadly letting the whole film a bit down for me.
Rating: 3