Justin Chang

During the pandemic, the Chinese director Jia Zhengke, like many of us, had a lot of time on his hands. He began sifting through a personal archive consisting of footage that he had shot since 2001. He ended up weaving much of this footage, some of which we've seen before, into a gorgeous and lyrical feature called Caught by the Tides.

During the pandemic, the Chinese director Jia Zhengke, like many of us, had a lot of time on his hands. He began sifting through a personal archive consisting of footage that he had shot since 2001. He ended up weaving much of this footage, some of which we've seen before, into a gorgeous and lyrical feature called Caught by the Tides.

During the pandemic, the Chinese director Jia Zhengke, like many of us, had a lot of time on his hands. He began sifting through a personal archive consisting of footage that he had shot since 2001. He ended up weaving much of this footage, some of which we've seen before, into a gorgeous and lyrical feature called Caught by the Tides.

We're used to seeing archival material in documentaries, but this film is something far rarer and stranger. It's an archival drama, an entire narrative composed from two decades' worth of discarded scraps.

We're used to seeing archival material in documentaries, but this film is something far rarer and stranger. It's an archival drama, an entire narrative composed from two decades' worth of discarded scraps.

We're used to seeing archival material in documentaries, but this film is something far rarer and stranger. It's an archival drama, an entire narrative composed from two decades' worth of discarded scraps.

The movie uses this unfamiliar method to tell a familiar Zhao story about a passionate and tough-minded woman played by the great Zhao Tao, the director's frequent collaborator and off-screen wife. Over several years, this character, whose name is Chao Chao, experiences romance and heartbreak, and winds up adrift, traveling a 21st century Chinese landscape that is forever in flux.

The movie uses this unfamiliar method to tell a familiar Zhao story about a passionate and tough-minded woman played by the great Zhao Tao, the director's frequent collaborator and off-screen wife. Over several years, this character, whose name is Chao Chao, experiences romance and heartbreak, and winds up adrift, traveling a 21st century Chinese landscape that is forever in flux.

The movie uses this unfamiliar method to tell a familiar Zhao story about a passionate and tough-minded woman played by the great Zhao Tao, the director's frequent collaborator and off-screen wife. Over several years, this character, whose name is Chao Chao, experiences romance and heartbreak, and winds up adrift, traveling a 21st century Chinese landscape that is forever in flux.

This flux has become the great subject of Jia's career. He's deeply attuned to the winds of social, economic, political, technological, and even geographical change sweeping through his country. Caught by the Tides unfolds in three acts. The first takes place in Datong, a city in northern China.

This flux has become the great subject of Jia's career. He's deeply attuned to the winds of social, economic, political, technological, and even geographical change sweeping through his country. Caught by the Tides unfolds in three acts. The first takes place in Datong, a city in northern China.

This flux has become the great subject of Jia's career. He's deeply attuned to the winds of social, economic, political, technological, and even geographical change sweeping through his country. Caught by the Tides unfolds in three acts. The first takes place in Datong, a city in northern China.

Jia's fans will recognize scenes from Unknown Pleasures, his 2002 drama about aimless youth in a town where the local coal mining industry is on the decline and capitalism is on the rise. Chow Chow is a young dancer who entertains in bars and clubs, and also at promotional events for a liquor brand.

Jia's fans will recognize scenes from Unknown Pleasures, his 2002 drama about aimless youth in a town where the local coal mining industry is on the decline and capitalism is on the rise. Chow Chow is a young dancer who entertains in bars and clubs, and also at promotional events for a liquor brand.

Jia's fans will recognize scenes from Unknown Pleasures, his 2002 drama about aimless youth in a town where the local coal mining industry is on the decline and capitalism is on the rise. Chow Chow is a young dancer who entertains in bars and clubs, and also at promotional events for a liquor brand.

Every time she dances, Jia unleashes a torrent of music, most infectiously with the 1998 hit Butterfly by the Swedish pop group Smile DK. Chao has always used music vividly in his films, and in Caught by the Tides, he strings together so many free-form scenes of people singing and dancing that the movie almost plays like a full-blown musical. It's ragged and disorienting, but that's the point.

Every time she dances, Jia unleashes a torrent of music, most infectiously with the 1998 hit Butterfly by the Swedish pop group Smile DK. Chao has always used music vividly in his films, and in Caught by the Tides, he strings together so many free-form scenes of people singing and dancing that the movie almost plays like a full-blown musical. It's ragged and disorienting, but that's the point.

Every time she dances, Jia unleashes a torrent of music, most infectiously with the 1998 hit Butterfly by the Swedish pop group Smile DK. Chao has always used music vividly in his films, and in Caught by the Tides, he strings together so many free-form scenes of people singing and dancing that the movie almost plays like a full-blown musical. It's ragged and disorienting, but that's the point.

The future, and even the present, seem almost bursting with possibility. It's around this time that Chao Chao falls in love with a local gangster named Bin, played by the actor Li Jubin. but their romance swiftly goes sour, and the two separate, which sets the stage for the movie's more melancholy second act. Chiao Chiao heads south, sailing down the Yangtze River and searching for Bean.

The future, and even the present, seem almost bursting with possibility. It's around this time that Chao Chao falls in love with a local gangster named Bin, played by the actor Li Jubin. but their romance swiftly goes sour, and the two separate, which sets the stage for the movie's more melancholy second act. Chiao Chiao heads south, sailing down the Yangtze River and searching for Bean.