Bold. Extremely blunt. Quite literally a shotgun shot to the head. 

I approached this film expecting something like Jafar Panahi’s “it was just an accident”. Panahi does a masterful job of inciting conflict in the very soul of the viewer. To me, this film does not force you to ask questions, it forces you to look at the answers.

This film does not serve to incite conflict, it is the conflict.

I completely agree with the “surreal realism” part that is talked about in most discussions of this film. But to me, this isn’t just “surreal realism”, it goes beyond that. All four accounts are based off of true stories. This is the true underbelly of china’s “state-capitalism”.

This movie isn’t a criticism of communism at all. Instead, it serves as a warning to how we cannot treat communism as capital’s antithesis. There can be no synthesis between communist and capitalist society.

To me, this film serves as a testament to Trotskyism. 

This film does not ask the question that “is there truly a touch of sin in all?”

This film answers it. And the answer is yes. 

You could be the man who betrays his people, the corrupt village chief, the rapist, the murderer, the one who kills for no reason, the man who wants to fuck whores. You could be the person beating a man to his death. You could be the one jumping off of a ledge.

It is in your heart that you have to find the strength not to be.

Bold. Extremely blunt. Quite literally a shotgun shot to the head. 

I approached this film expecting something like Jafar Panahi’s “it was just an accident”. Panahi does a masterful job of inciting conflict in the very soul of the viewer. To me, this film does not force you to ask questions, it forces you to look at the answers.

This film does not serve to incite conflict, it is the conflict.

I completely agree with the “surreal realism” part that is talked about in most discussions of this film. But to me, this isn’t just “surreal realism”, it goes beyond that. All four accounts are based off of true stories. This is the true underbelly of china’s “state-capitalism”.

This movie isn’t a criticism of communism at all. Instead, it serves as a warning to how we cannot treat communism as capital’s antithesis. There can be no synthesis between communist and capitalist society.

To me, this film serves as a testament to Trotskyism. 

This film does not ask the question that “is there truly a touch of sin in all?”

This film answers it. And the answer is yes. 

You could be the man who betrays his people, the corrupt village chief, the rapist, the murderer, the one who kills for no reason, the man who wants to fuck whores. You could be the person beating a man to his death. You could be the one jumping off of a ledge.

It is in your heart that you have to find the strength not to be.

❤️ Jia Zhangke

❤️ Jia Zhangke

one of those movies where I’m like oh, right, THIS is why I wanna dedicate my life to the movies

one of those movies where I’m like oh, right, THIS is why I wanna dedicate my life to the movies

Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin is a meaningfully tailored film, from themes of wealth inequality, oppressive institutions, social fabrics, and human decisions, this is a film that on a artistic level I really appreciate, and maybe I’m missing something but as of yet I don’t think I am, I feel like it’s missing something…

I am going to continue my journey with Jia Zhangke, so far overall he’s a very impressive artist that I like a lot.

Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin is a meaningfully tailored film, from themes of wealth inequality, oppressive institutions, social fabrics, and human decisions, this is a film that on a artistic level I really appreciate, and maybe I’m missing something but as of yet I don’t think I am, I feel like it’s missing something…

I am going to continue my journey with Jia Zhangke, so far overall he’s a very impressive artist that I like a lot.

is the english title for this film a reference to A Touch of Zen? that's clever.

the film description says that it's about "random acts of violence" but idk about that... they are anything but random if you ask me. if anything, it feels like the film is trying to say that modern society (Chinese society specifically, in this case) inevitably leads to situations where violence is the only logical result. the fact that the stories are loosely based on real life events in China only makes that point stronger.

but as much as i love the message, the stories themselves were a bit unengaging at points. loved the bursts of violence though.

is the english title for this film a reference to A Touch of Zen? that's clever.

the film description says that it's about "random acts of violence" but idk about that... they are anything but random if you ask me. if anything, it feels like the film is trying to say that modern society (Chinese society specifically, in this case) inevitably leads to situations where violence is the only logical result. the fact that the stories are loosely based on real life events in China only makes that point stronger.

but as much as i love the message, the stories themselves were a bit unengaging at points. loved the bursts of violence though.