Jia Zhangke - There Were No Gods Left

There Were No Gods Left

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Jia Zhangke

A collection of 6 posts

End of Year Lists

The 10 Best Films of 2025

2025 was exactly like every year in the history of cinema in its quality. The only variable every year is whether or not one watched the best the year had to offer.

A Touch of Sin (Exiting Through the 2010s)

Chinese Cinema(s)

A Touch of Sin (Exiting Through the 2010s)

A podcast appearance about Jia Zhangke's A Touch of Sin

REVIEW: Caught by the Tides (2024) dir. Jia Zhangke

Chinese Cinema(s)

REVIEW: Caught by the Tides (2024) dir. Jia Zhangke

I am unaware of a director anywhere in the world who has more thoroughly and philosophically navigated the complicated contradictions of the contemporary world than Jia Zhangke.

A Stellar New Perspective on Modern Chinese Cinema

No Gods Left Exclusive

A Stellar New Perspective on Modern Chinese Cinema

In his article “Why ‘The Chinese Cinema’?”, film critic Sean Gilman provides a thoughtful explanation for why he uses “cinema” as singular and not plural. For his purposes, it’s a reference to Andrew Sarris’s famous work “The American Cinema” and is not meant as a film critic'

National Iconography in the Films of Two Chinese Directors

National Iconography in the Films of Two Chinese Directors

Two Chinas rest between Zhang and Jia.

The Politics of China in the Films of Jia Zhangke

The Politics of China in the Films of Jia Zhangke

Jia Zhangke is one of the most important Chinese directors today. He won the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival for Still Life, NPR critic John Powers called him “the most important filmmaker working in the world today,” and he took home the Best Screenplay award at the 2013 Cannes