85
Metascore
36 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The Film StageRory O'ConnorThe Film StageRory O'ConnorAsh is Purest White is a tremendous, funny, heartbreaking, sprawling vehicle for Zhao, and what a gift it is to see her exploring the furthest reaches of those talents.
- 90The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe performances of the two leads are riveting.
- 83The A.V. ClubA.A. DowdThe A.V. ClubA.A. DowdIt’s a surprisingly funny, even loopy film at times, with bursts of slapstick and screwball humor, plus a sporadic absurdism.
- 80The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawWhat does the ending of Ash Is Purest White mean — and what does its middle or beginning mean? I’m not sure. It feels like a gripping parable for the vanity of human wishes, and another impassioned portrait of national malaise.
- 80VarietyMaggie LeeVarietyMaggie LeeThe work has its intellectually ponderous moments but is ultimately saved by Jia’s muse and wife, Zhao Tao, who surpasses herself in a role of mesmerizing complexity.
- 70New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaNew York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaBy the end, the transformation of China is more compelling than Qiao’s love for Bin, but watching both unfold over time is continually thought-provoking, given the ephemerality of whole cities, much less love affairs.
- 70Screen DailyAllan HunterScreen DailyAllan HunterThe meandering narrative sprawls like a great Dickens novel but individual encounters and elements that may seem like distractions all reflect back on the greater themes.
- 70Vanity FairRichard LawsonVanity FairRichard LawsonI love the way Jia grapples with large social shifts in such metaphorical and yet still intimate ways, peering in on individual people caught in the churn of time and growth and framing them in the defining context of their surroundings.
- 67IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichIt’s a movie that often feels like a mega-mix of Jia’s greatest hits, but one that rehashes them with precious little of the ineffable grace that make each of them so valuable on their own.
- 60CineVueJohn BleasdaleCineVueJohn BleasdaleAsh Is Purest White is a fascinating chapter in Jia’s ongoing chronicle of ordinary lives affected by unprecedented change in China.