"A Touch of Sin" (天注定)

A Touch of Sin [File photo]

A blown-up fresco of a modern China engulfed by turbo-capitalism, "A Touch of Sin" is a minimalist epic of maximum proportions. As is often the case in his films, director Jia Zhangke, a master of contemporary cinema, observes the periphery of humanity to describe its epochal changes. The China in Jia's film resembles neither the promotion of its "peaceful rise" nor the vilification the West likes to project onto its "enemies." Here, the camera is not trying to judge or cover up, it is trying to visualize what it feels like when progress hits you in the face. The Chinese economic miracle is traversed by contradiction and corruption which come with the territory of moneymaking -- be it in China or any other country.

This film, which won the Palme D'or at Cannes this year for Best Screenplay, narrates the daily injustices that industrial revolutions tend to entail. In "A Touch of Sin," working class angels roam the nation from north to south on a quest for extermination. From Shanxi to Chongqing, Hubei and Guangdong, vindicating inequality with guns and knives is their mission, one driven by money and desperation.

The director captures with concerned eyes the trivialization that comes with wealth. It is the perverse and violent nature of social disparity rather than a condemnation of the Chinese state that Jia is interested in. If anything, the film is filled with a genuine concern about the blackmail of progress and the sneaky toll it takes. It is a film that prefers to focus on what economic miracles take away, rather than on what they bring. It is a vital point of view at a time when moneymaking seems to be humanity's ultimate goal and purpose.