Xiaoshan Going Home

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🎙️ EPISODE 688: 04.10.23 PART OF THE JIA ZHANGKE DIRECTOR FOCUS And so we begin this new chronological DIRECTOR FOCUS on the work of Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke. This is a random one for me. I'm going in completely cold here. I know nothing of this guy's work, just that he's a "notable name," etc. I believe he's part of a wave of newish Mandarin-language directors known for slow burn type movies with extremely long run-times. But here, in his humble beginnings as a film student, this feature tops out at just under an hour. Featuring Wang Hongwei in the titular role as a down-on-his-luck cook who's just been fired before the new year, this has Linklater/Slacker vibes, and while that could have been a reference point, I have no idea if it was or not.

We see Xiaoshan stumble through random scenes as he tries to make his way home for the holidays (he never does). Notable are the use of inter-titles that only occasionally reference the action or plot (or lack-thereof) (one of them is just a TV broadcast schedule). It's an odd and curious debut and I'm looking forward to where Jia Zhangke (I'm just gonna call him J.Z. - sorry!) goes.

CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ EPISODE 687 - (YOU ARE HERE) - EPISODE 689 ⫸

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Xiao Shan Going Home (Chinese: 小山回家; pinyin: Xiǎo Shān húi jiā) is a Chinese featurette directed by Jia Zhangke. The film, running around one hour in length, was made by Jia while he was attending the Beijing Film Academy and stars his friend, classmate, and now frequent collaborator, Wang Hongwei in the titular role. It was released on March 2, 1995.