A town in Fengjie county is gradually being demolished and flooded to make way for the Three Gorges Dam. A man and woman visit the town to locate their estranged spouses, and become witness to the societal changes.
worker china loss of loved one demolition barrage resettlement
sah reviewed Still Life (2006)
Still Life
Zhan Ke films take place mostly contemporary China and tend to focus on the daily and often monotonous life of the average citizen. He strives for a preponderance of ordinariness through the use of diminutive shots and dull color tones.
The narrative traces one man's search for is wife paralleled by one woman's search for her husband. Ultimately, the two protagonists confront and accept the reality that their relationship had likely died so long ago. The setting is the valley flooded by the construction of the controversial Three Gorges Dam. The dam effectively serves as a dual symbol of disconnection--between the individuals themselves as well as there relationship to the egocentric whims of the state.
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