Reviews:《Jia thinks》,《My memoir of youth》,《How we decide》
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-24 09:50
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Jia Thinks
By Jia Zhangke, published by Peking University Press
Even as his new film 24 City hit city screens early this month, Chinese film director Jia Zhangke's first book appeared on market shelves.
In Jia Thinks, the leading figure of China's "Sixth Generation" directors details his notes and essays written in the course of his filmmaking, and records every important moment of his career. The "Sixth Generation" refers to a group of Chinese directors who graduated from the Beijing Film Academy and Central Drama Institute in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Jia says the title of his book is inspired by Eileen Chang's Chang Sees (1978).
Well-known oil painter Chen Danqing writes the preface to the book, which is chronologically arranged. It contains the director's notes on key films, essays on filmmaking and on other world-famous directors - in and outside the film world - speeches and even lyrics that Jia wrote for the interlude of his 2004 film The World (Shijie).
"Writing provides relief from the chaos around me," says Jia.
The book has a carefree style owing in part to Jia's habit of writing whenever and wherever possible. This style makes for a pleasant read and for those who love his movies, the book offers not only a rare peek into the inner world of the film director but also a comprehension of contemporary Chinese film scenes.
Jia started off as an independent filmmaker and gradually gained worldwide recognition with such films as Xiao Wu (1997), Platform (Zhan Tai, 2000) and Still Life (Sanxia Haoren, 2006), the last of which was the Golden Lion winner at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival.
