The preeminent dramatist of China’s rapid 21st-century growth and social transformation, Jia Zhang-ke has taken his boldest approach to narrative yet with his marvelous Caught by the Tides. Assembled from footage shot over a span of 23 years—a beguiling mix of fiction and documentary, featuring a cascade of images taken from previous movies, unused scenes, and newly shot dramatic sequences—Caught by the Tides is a free-flowing work of unspoken longing, carried along more by music than dialogue as it looms around the edges of a poignant love story. The film mostly adheres to the perspective of Qiaoqiao (Jia’s immortal muse Zhao Tao) as she wanders an increasingly unrecognizable country in search of long-lost lover Bin (Li Zhubin), who left their home city of Datong seeking new financial prospects. The always captivating Zhao carries the film with her delicate expressiveness, while Jia constantly evokes cinema’s ability to capture the passage of time and the persistence of change: of people, landscapes, cities, politics, ideas.
China | 2024 | 1h 51m
Directed by Jia Zhang-ke
Starring Zhao Tao, Li Zhubin
Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles
“Monumental. The best film of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.”
— Justin Chang, New York Times
“A masterpiece. Think of it as his Boyhood, but chronicling an entire nation and culture.”
— Bilge Ebiri, New York
“Carefully crafted to break your heart. Simply stunning.”
— David Fear, Rolling Stone
Beer and wine available at our concessions
Strand Film Program sponsored by LimeRock Inn
