2000s

The obscure mystery at the heart of Zodiac is made all the more frustrating by the pinpoint precision with which David Fincher attacks his plotting, cinematography, and characterisation, shifting the focus away from its fruitless puzzles and onto a study of psychological obsession.

In his deft weaving together of disparate historical accounts and film genres, Satoshi Kon’s existential probing of questions regarding truth, fiction, celebrity, and purpose in Millennium Actress becomes a magnificently collaged narrative, reflecting the inexorable human ambition of its characters to attain that which impossibly lies beyond the reach of both reality and imagination.

Through the violent demolition of an ancient Chinese village in Still Life, Jia Zhangke brings about an apocalyptic vision of modernity and globalisation, pushing the boundaries of neorealism with an eerie edge of science-fiction imagery.

There is a beautiful, architectural surrealism to the miniature replicas of world-famous monuments that feature in The World, as the theme park where Jia Zhangke sets his film shrinks these landmarks down to a size that makes both tourists and staff look like giants, and simultaneously criticises a globalised Chinese culture that allows for such…

While Jia Zhangke grounds Unknown Pleasures in a grim reality dominated by derelict architecture and television sets, his young adult characters try to find some comfort in the philosophy to “do what feels good”, even if these ancient words are little more than a despairing assertion of meek independence in the face of a constrained,…