"The cherished hibiscus of 24 City, in full bloom. Chengdu shone and prospered."

A poignant reflection on the past and its memories, regrets, and failed dreams, on a changing present and a future that only seems to get closer and closer. Revolving around a factory in Chengdu and its workers spanning across three generations, 24 City is a documentary-styled blend of fiction and reality, where Jia Zhangke beautifully digs into the past to explore how a factory marked so many people's lives. Although the factory was eventually demolished and turned into an apartment building called '24 City', all the memories and experiences remain and live on through its workers. Now more than ever, since Jia Zhangke has immortalized all these stories and emotions in film for eternity.

24 City focuses on communication and human speech—the ability to tell stories and elicit vivid images into our minds through nothing but words. Jia Zhangke offers long takes of tranquil interviews and monologues, forcing us to imagine the experiences that the speakers lived. This creates a brief, emotional bond or connection between speaker and listener, which I find very special. Sometimes the camera breaks free from the static shots and it's as if you're teleported into the stories to wander through them for a little bit, before being teleported into the next one. 24 City offers real people's experiences, but shared by professional actors attempting to augment the emotional weight and impact of the stories. Apparently, some viewers do not like this, but I thought it was beautiful, especially when you have Joan Chen and Zhao Tao delivering splendid performances.

In my opinion, 24 City only gets better with each interview, before concluding with Tao's segment which is the arguably the best. She's an incredibly talented actress, and the way she seems to recall someone else's memories is simply amazing. The soundtrack, composed by the great Lim Giong, is also one of the film's highlight, even more so due to the fact that the score sounds similar to that of Millennium Mambo, which is one of my favorites ever. Ultimately, even though I have barely watched any documentaries, I found 24 City to be an excellent project from Jia Zhangke, offering a genuine and heartfelt meditation on change. It addresses the same themes of Jia's entire career, but perhaps in a more moving, raw and sincere manner because you're listening to real stories—heartbreaking interviews of disillusioned generations with big dreams that would never come true. Melancholic and a little depressing, but full of love, respect and honesty nonetheless, as all documentaries should be.

"If you have something to do, you age more slowly."

2008 | 2000s | Jia Zhangke | East Asian | Chinese
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