24 City (2008)
"Er shi si cheng ji" (original title)

Change and a city in China. In Chengdu, factory 420 is being pulled down to make way for multi-story buildings with luxury flats. Scenes of factory operations, of the workforce, and of ... See full summary »

Director:

Zhangke Jia

Writers:

Zhangke Jia, Yongming Zhai

Stars:

Jianbin Chen, Joan Chen, Liping Lü

3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jianbin Chen
Joan Chen	...	Gu Minhua / Xiao Hua
Liping Lü	...	Hao Dali
Tao Zhao	...	Su Na

Storyline

Change and a city in China. In Chengdu, factory 420 is being pulled down to make way for multi-story buildings with luxury flats. Scenes of factory operations, of the workforce, and of buildings stripped bare and then razed, are inter-cut with workers who were born in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s telling their stories - about the factory, which manufactured military aircraft, and about their work and their lives. A middle-aged man visits his mentor, now elderly; a woman talks of being a 19-year-old beauty there and ending up alone. The film concludes with two young people talking, each the child of workers, each relaying a story of one visit to a factory. Times change.

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Plot Keywords:

factory | china | working class | same actor playing two characters | steel worker | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Ad Vitam [fr] Official site [jp]

Country:

China Hong Kong Japan

Language:

Mandarin Shanghainese

Release Date:

6 March 2009 (China)

Also Known As:

24 City

Filming Locations:

Chengdu, China

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bandai Visual Company, Bitters End, China Resources

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During a press conference at the 61st Cannes Film Festival for the film, Zhangke Jia, Joan Chen and Tao Zhao observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the 2008 devastating earthquake in China. The film was shot in Chengdu, in Sichuan province where the earthquake struck.

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Connections

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

User Reviews

bad DVD design, good film. i enjoyed it.

That DVD design looked as if it was about a japan military story, because their military flag looks similar.

This film is like an authentic documentary. The few famous actors appeared in it did a good job. Even though you know who they are in real life, but they acted as if they were really part of that factory.

And I loved it when Joan chen spoke shanghai dialect, it is rare for a Chinese film to use shanghai dialect. It is sort of forbidden by the Chinese communist party. If hong kong was a part of China since 1949, then there won't be any cantonese films at all, because the CCP forces every film to be made in mandarin Chinese only.

I also liked it when Joan chen spoke her mandarin with a shanghai accent. she can speak perfect mandarin, but she did it to make her role more authentic.

Time is changing, I believe what those people said in this film really reflect what is happening to those factory workers who were laid off.