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24 City
24 City
8.1
/10
3,263 Ratings

24 CITY

Er shi si cheng ji | 二十四城记

Directed by Jia Zhangke
China, Hong Kong, 2008
Documentary, Drama

Synopsis

Chengdu, nowadays. The state-owned factory 420 shuts down to give way to a complex of luxury apartments called “24 City”. Three generations, eight characters: old workers, factory executives, and yuppies—their stories are the history of China.

Synopsis

Chengdu, nowadays. The state-owned factory 420 shuts down to give way to a complex of luxury apartments called “24 City”. Three generations, eight characters: old workers, factory executives, and yuppies—their stories are the history of China.

Our take

A clever mix of interviewees and actors, 24 City is one of Jia Zhangke’s most innovative explorations of the tectonic shifts in China’s social upheavals, as the old makes way for the new. Moving musings on the inherent transience of modern life are paired with ghostly footage of a factory’s end.