Some experiments fail, that’s alright.
This ‘experiment’ exploded in my face and scorched my eyelashes.

Hong Sang-zoomed

I haven’t seen ‘Ash is Purest White’, but it seems that Jia Zhangke turned a corner with ‘A Touch of Sin’. In contrast to his quieter earlier movies, there’s a mix of genre here (less of the quiet realism). And more overt violence. But the sharp social critiques that made his earlier movies (imho) great are still there. And the animals (the snake, that monkey in chains, the poor horse). Good good.

Forget about the opening pornographic sex scene, or the scenes of unsimulated fellatio, or the countless full frontal shots, or the latex fetish, the gayest part of this movie is that the dog is named Lorde.