Jia Zhang Ke, a master of modern Chinese cinema, returns 10 years after I Wish I Knew with a documentary. This is the third film of his documentary trilogy of Chinese art, covering literature, following Dong on painting and Useless on fashion design. In May 2019, Jia Zhang Ke returns to his hometown of Shanxi and attends a literature festival. There, four writers of different ages converse over Chinese history since 1949. China’s rapidly changing modern history is embodied in writings and the words of the four that are covered by Shostakovich’s musical motif. The solemnity of the faces of ordinary people simultaneously captured on screen reminds us that this is a film by Jia Zhang Ke.
