What a waste of my time!!!

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

one of my absolute favorites!

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

A poem to the millions of young men in China who are tempted and beguiled by the promises of a rapidly economically advancing society but are unable to turn those promises into reality. There are new roads in all directions but your scooter won't get you anywhere. The lyrics of the song perfectly fit the hopes and frustrations of the young men. BTW, the characters in this movie are not so much influenced by American culture as they are by the consumerism and globalization of the Chinese economy. "Are you having fun?"

There's a scene a bit over half way through that encapsulates the magic of this film and of Zhangke Jia in general. Having been humiliated in the nightclub at the hands of Qiao San, Qiao Ji, one of the two main protagonists, is seen returning to the nightclub with a gang in tow armed with sticks and clubs. His friend Bin Bin sees this and forcibly puts a stop to it. A fight occurs resulting Bin Bin getting a nasty slug to the head. Off screen a TV can be heard. A large group are standing around watching a live broadcast announcing the host city winner for the 2008 Olympics. The two boys are distracted by this and begin watching. Just before Beijing is announced as winner they glance at each other. As the crowd erupts in delight the two boys watch on with no reaction. This kind of transformation (in this case form the personal to the global) is continually taking place throughout the film. Just when most films would move on to the next scene something always happens to transform a scene giving the narrative a layer of complexity that most films don't get close to. I do understand why some people find this style of film making boring. The scenes are long, there's not capital 'D' drama going on but if you like films a bit closer to reality then there's a lot of pleasure to be had here.

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.

Unknown Pleasures is the first Jia Zhang Ke film that I have seen and it is excellent. The setting is a town in the north of China, but it could be anywhere in the developing world - India, Argentina or South Africa, for example - where neo liberal economic policies have benefitted the urban elite, but created dislocation for millions of others. The director undoubtedly has a deep social conscience.The film focuses on several young people, members of China's "new new" generation. As the films progresses, we see what the new world order offers them - US currency, American pop culture, the 2008 Olympics, new super highways - contrasted with the reality - few opportunities for young people, laid off state factory workers and a general degradation of moral values. The message is clear: the new world order offers common people everything in return for giving up traditional ways of life, but actually delivers little of substance. As Bin Bin puts it when he finds out that his girlfriend is going to Beijing to study international trade: "WTO is nothing. Just a trick to make some cash."The social realist style - it has a bit of a documentary look to it - and the pop song which the film is named after and which features prominently in it (Ren Xiao Yao - the lyrics speak about youth alienation, particularly a desire for freedom and pleasure) also provide a cutting edge look and feel. The song is emotive and will strike a chord with those who like explorations of youth alienation.However, the film, as befits the political and artistic climate in China, is very subtle and understated, and may escape those who have little knowledge of current affairs in China or an insensitivity to the economic and social dislocation that is taking place outside the big cities (this is not a good date movie for the corporate Western expat and his urban Chinese girlfriend who measure progress by the number of new condos and Western restaurants in Shanghai).This is great indie filmmaking, though, and I would particularly recommend it to socially and politically aware twenty and thirtysomethings who like artistic expression that is intelligent, socially conscientious and cutting edge.