World (DVD)

Synopsis

Acclaimed director Jia Zhangke casts a compassionate eye on the daily loves, friendships, and desperate dreams of the twenty-somethings from China's remote provinces who come to live and work at Beijing's World Park. A bizarre cross-cultural pollination of Las Vegas and Epcot Center, World Park features lavish shows performed amid scaled-down replicas of the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, St. Mark's Square, the Pyramids, and even the Twin Towers.

From the sensational opening tracking shot of a young dancer's backstage request for a Band-Aid to poetic flourishes of animation and clever use of text-messaging, Jia pushes past the kitsch potential of this surreal setting--a real-life Beijing tourist destination. "The Village Voice" called Jia Zhangke "the world's greatest filmmaker under forty", and "The World" is his funniest, most inventive, and touching work to date.