2002·Comedy·1h 52m
7.1
★
Two disaffected, unemployed Chinese youth drift through life on the streets of their industrial town, their paths crossing with that of a local young singer and dancer working for a liquor company as a spokesmodel.
Directed by Jia Zhangke
rebellious youth
unemployed
male domination
urban youth
obsessed with a woman
industrial town
liquor dealer
disillusioned youth
spokesperson
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Cast
Zhao Tao
Qiao Qiao
Feng Qing
Yuan Yuan
Wang Hongwei
Xiao Wu
Wang Limin
The Karaoke Customer
Jia Zhangke
Man singing in street (uncredited)
Crew
Jia Zhangke
Director
Jia Zhangke
Writer
Nelson Yu Lik-wai
Director of Photography
Shôzô Ichiyama
Producer
Yuji Sadai
Co-Producer
Hengameh Panahi
Executive Producer
Zhang Yang
Sound Designer
Liang Jingdong
Art Direction
Nelson Yu Lik-wai
Associate Producer
Gu Zheng
Story Supervisor
Hou Mingjie
Second Assistant Director
Gu Zheng
Third Assistant Director
Popular Reviews
37 reviews
Katie
8.0★ · 02/19/26
how bing bing and xiao ji felt in 2002 is exactly how young ppl feel today
galaxy brained take is that this is a musical. tell me I’m wrong!
the clubbing scene was awesome but it did remind me of crybaby after first fridays ..
galaxy brained take is that this is a musical. tell me I’m wrong!
the clubbing scene was awesome but it did remind me of crybaby after first fridays ..
how bing bing and xiao ji felt in 2002 is exactly how young ppl feel today
galaxy brained take is that this is a musical. tell me I’m wrong!
the clubbing scene was awesome but it did remind me of crybaby after first fridays ..
galaxy brained take is that this is a musical. tell me I’m wrong!
the clubbing scene was awesome but it did remind me of crybaby after first fridays ..
avery
8.0★ · 02/18/26
kinda how it’s been feeling
kinda how it’s been feeling
Zlatia
3.0★ · 09/09/25
Watching this was like watching that one family guy cut scene where Peter scrapes his knee but if u watch it for 2 hours on a loop
Watching this was like watching that one family guy cut scene where Peter scrapes his knee but if u watch it for 2 hours on a loop
Taylor Hyder
:(
:(
Nick
9.0★ · 05/26/25
So many moments encapsulating a “try, try again” existential momentum offset by the sobering reality of “destined to failure.”
Few films tap into the hopeless of entering adulthood as viscerally as this. Life is an endless series of slaps in the face. Life is a never-starting motorbike. Life is relentless pushback from escape. Life is a prison without walls, the infinite emptiness of barren landscapes more imposing than a series of parallel bars. How apropos the fate of Bin Bin seems to coincide with a more proverbial life of imprisonment and hopelessness he had lived throughout its runtime. Forever left behind.
I felt a strong connection to An Elephant Sitting Still, another deeply moving film.
Sometimes I watch a film, and even this one where I took a rare break during runtime, emanates an indescribable level of empathy. An experience totally felt. That’s not to say there isn’t an equally powerful intellect at play. Having a single American dollar bill play such a pivotal role bespeaks the globally economic landscape this nation now resides in: under the shadow of the dollar.
Few films tap into the hopeless of entering adulthood as viscerally as this. Life is an endless series of slaps in the face. Life is a never-starting motorbike. Life is relentless pushback from escape. Life is a prison without walls, the infinite emptiness of barren landscapes more imposing than a series of parallel bars. How apropos the fate of Bin Bin seems to coincide with a more proverbial life of imprisonment and hopelessness he had lived throughout its runtime. Forever left behind.
I felt a strong connection to An Elephant Sitting Still, another deeply moving film.
Sometimes I watch a film, and even this one where I took a rare break during runtime, emanates an indescribable level of empathy. An experience totally felt. That’s not to say there isn’t an equally powerful intellect at play. Having a single American dollar bill play such a pivotal role bespeaks the globally economic landscape this nation now resides in: under the shadow of the dollar.
So many moments encapsulating a “try, try again” existential momentum offset by the sobering reality of “destined to failure.”
Few films tap into the hopeless of entering adulthood as viscerally as this. Life is an endless series of slaps in the face. Life is a never-starting motorbike. Life is relentless pushback from escape. Life is a prison without walls, the infinite emptiness of barren landscapes more imposing than a series of parallel bars. How apropos the fate of Bin Bin seems to coincide with a more proverbial life of imprisonment and hopelessness he had lived throughout its runtime. Forever left behind.
I felt a strong connection to An Elephant Sitting Still, another deeply moving film.
Sometimes I watch a film, and even this one where I took a rare break during runtime, emanates an indescribable level of empathy. An experience totally felt. That’s not to say there isn’t an equally powerful intellect at play. Having a single American dollar bill play such a pivotal role bespeaks the globally economic landscape this nation now resides in: under the shadow of the dollar.
Few films tap into the hopeless of entering adulthood as viscerally as this. Life is an endless series of slaps in the face. Life is a never-starting motorbike. Life is relentless pushback from escape. Life is a prison without walls, the infinite emptiness of barren landscapes more imposing than a series of parallel bars. How apropos the fate of Bin Bin seems to coincide with a more proverbial life of imprisonment and hopelessness he had lived throughout its runtime. Forever left behind.
I felt a strong connection to An Elephant Sitting Still, another deeply moving film.
Sometimes I watch a film, and even this one where I took a rare break during runtime, emanates an indescribable level of empathy. An experience totally felt. That’s not to say there isn’t an equally powerful intellect at play. Having a single American dollar bill play such a pivotal role bespeaks the globally economic landscape this nation now resides in: under the shadow of the dollar.