Each act in Mountains May Depart, Zhangke Jia's latest disquisition on China in the 21st Century, takes place in a different time period with a steadily escalating aspect ratio: 1999 in 1.33:1, 2014 in 1.85:1, and 2025 in 2.35:1. As time moves forward, the possibilities expand in kind, with the frame opening up from the dust-choked mines of the northern Shanxi province to accommodate the sleek modernity of Shanghai and
Yet millennial progress exacts its own terrible price, just as it did in Still Life and Dong, Jia's
The second and third acts bring the consequences of divorce, illness, and regret.
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Jia's last film, A Touch of Sin, solved this problem through the relative sketch-work of what played as four short, focused films. But the broader canvas of Mountains May Depart leaves his weaknesses more exposed. Set in Jia's hometown of Fenyang, the first and longest of the three acts is by far the most affecting, despite the schematic rigging of a love triangle involving the beautiful Tao (Tao Zhao, Jia's
"You are my dad, but it's like Google Translate is your real son," a now-grown Dollar (Zijian Dong) cries a decade later. The line lands poorly in part because it's delivered in English, Jia's
Mountains May Depart
Starring Tao Zhao, Yi Zhang, Jing Dong Liang. Written and directed by Zhangke Jia. 131 minutes. Not rated. Opens Friday, April 22, at Miami Beach Cinematheque, 1130 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-673-4567; mbcinema.com.