Unknown Pleasures (2002) Ren xiao yao (original title)

Director:

Zhangke Jia

Writer:

Zhangke Jia

Release Date:

22 January 2003 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Two unemployed Chinese teenagers have trouble resisting the temptations of the Western world.

Plot Keywords:

China | Youth | Haircut | Bus | Rain

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Wei Wei Zhao	...	Bin Bin
Qiong Wu	...	Xiao Ji
Tao Zhao	...	Qiao Qiao
Qing Feng Zhou	...	Yuan Yuan
Hongwei Wang	...	Xiao Wu
Ru Bai	...	Bin Bin's mother
Xi An Liu	...	Xiao Ji's father
Shou Lin Xu	...	Sister Zhu
Ren Ai Jun	...	Hairdresser
Dao Xiao	...	Mr. Ren
Zi Ying	...	Concubine
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Zhubin Li	...	Qiao San
Ai Jun Ren	...	The Hairdresser
Limin Wang	...	The Karaoke Customer (as Wang Li Min)
Zhangke Jia	...	Man singing in street (uncredited)
Juan Antonio Samaranch	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Zhangke Jia		(as ZhangKe Jia)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Zhangke Jia

Produced by
Shozo Ichiyama	....	producer
Kit Ming Li	....	producer
Masayuki Mori	....	executive producer
Hengameh Panahi	....	executive producer
Paul Yi	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Nelson Yu Lik-wai		(as Lik Wai Yu)

Film Editing by
Keung Chow

Production Design by
Jing Dong Liang

Art Direction by
Jing Dong Liang

Sound Department
Bing Han	....	sound editor
Yang Zhang	....	sound

Editorial Department
Serge Anthony	....	color grader

Production Companies

• E-Pictures
• Hu Tong Communications
• Lumen Films
• Office Kitano
• T-Mark

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (for)
• Filmmuseum Distributie (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Ad Vitam Distribution (France)
• Artificial Eye (UK)
• Bitters End
• Filmfreak Distributie (200?) (Netherlands) (video)
• New Yorker Films (2003) (USA) (subtitled)
• Office Kitano
• Prodimag (2007) (Spain) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Ren xiao yao" - South Korea (original title)

Runtime:

France:113 min (Cannes Film Festival) | Japan:112 min

Country:

South Korea | France | Japan | China

Language:

Mandarin | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Datong, Shanxi, China

Company:

E-Pictures

Trivia:

Mandarin title refers to a song by Richie Ren

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.15" (2011)

Malaise and despair amidst the changes of China.

Unknown Pleasures portrays Bin Bin and Xiao Ji, two young Chinese men living in the city of Datong, several hundred miles west of Beijing. Theirs is a city in transition; crowded streets and apartment blocks back onto building sites, weird landscapes of debris and raw materials. The growing commercialisation of Chinese society is readily apparent; in an early scene the duo attend a lurid road show promotion for alcoholic drinks. The television news that punctuates the film shows the changes and conflicts in China and the effect these are having across the world, from the controversial US spy plane crash to the award of the Olympic games for 2008.

The two young protagonists are outsiders in their changing city. Bin Bin, newly unemployed, lives with his mother. Unwilling – then unable – to find new employment, he becomes increasingly despondent. His relationship with his girlfriend, Yuan Yuan, is lived out in front of a television screen: they rarely make eye contact. The cultural void in his life feels remarkably Western. Xiao Ji works for his father's garage business. Whilst Bin Bin becomes increasingly downcast, Xiao Ji dreamily pursues Xiao Wu, a dancer with the aforementioned road show, risking the anger of her volatile boyfriend.

The overlapping stories of the two friends develop a common theme of loneliness and yearning on the fringes of a rapidly changing society. The sense of despair and malaise in their lives is powerfully conveyed, but the increasing aimlessness of their activities makes for slow and often difficult viewing. The final third of the film is particularly slow, with many drawn-out scenes. Despite this slackening of the pace, an unexpected twist at the end rams home the film's message that, along with the new freedoms in China, there is disenchantment with the new shape of society.