In Public (film)
Encyclopedia
In Public is a short documentary film directed by sixth generation filmmaker Jia Zhangke
. In Public was filmed digitally for the 2001 Jeonju International Film Festival
.
In many ways, the film was a test-run for the feature length fiction film, Unknown Pleasures
. Both films are shot in digital film (a medium Jia would return to in Still Life (2006) and 24 City
(2008)), both are set in the city of Datong
, and both share the same shooting locations. As usual, Jia's regular collaborator Yu Lik-wai
served as the film's director of photography.
The film also screened at the 2002 Marseille Festival of Documentary Film
, where it won the Grand Prix.
, where three directors were asked to produce a short film in digital video. The other two directors who produced entries that year were Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang
and British director John Akomfrah. Setting up his camera in a train station in Datong
, Jia would eventually cobble together a film consisting of thirty shots over forty-five days.
Lacking in any formal plot, the film instead is content to capture seemingly mundane moments, customers asking for the train schedule, shots inside public buses, etc. The result, according to Chinese film scholar Berenice Reynaud, is a film that captures the "ennui, backwardness, and dreary atmosphere of a small town, and the impatience, hidden desires and private concerns of its inhabitants." For Jia, the film was a chance to focus on the public spaces in a modern provincial city of China: the train stations, discos, and karaokes of Datong
.
One critic, however, sees the film as more of a positive depiction of humanity than seen in Unknown Pleasures, noting that the film's final scene of people dancing in a dilapidated community center (the same center that opens the later film) elicits a sense of "people persevering despite the impoverishment of their existence." Unknown Pleasures, in contrast, is "incendiary bleakness and outrage."
Stylistically, In Public fits well into the Jia oeuvre. It situates itself between Jia's Platform and Unknown Pleasures, with the long takes of the former and the same desolate locations of the latter.
Jia Zhangke
Jia Zhangke is a Chinese film director. He is generally regarded as a leading figure of the "Sixth Generation" movement of Chinese cinema, a group that also includes such figures as Wang Xiaoshuai and Zhang Yuan....
. In Public was filmed digitally for the 2001 Jeonju International Film Festival
Jeonju International Film Festival
The Jeonju International Film Festival has been held annually since 2000 in Jeonju, South Korea, focusing on digital, independent and art films.-2000:*April 28-May 4: 184 films from 21 countries...
.
In many ways, the film was a test-run for the feature length fiction film, Unknown Pleasures
Unknown Pleasures (film)
Unknown Pleasures is a 2002 Chinese film directed by Jia Zhangke, starring Wu Qiong, Zhao Weiwei and Zhao Tao as three disaffected youths living in Datong in 2001, part of the new "Birth Control" generation...
. Both films are shot in digital film (a medium Jia would return to in Still Life (2006) and 24 City
24 City
24 City is a 2008 film directed and co-written by Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke. The film follows three generations of characters in Chengdu as a state-owned factory gives way to a modern apartment complex...
(2008)), both are set in the city of Datong
Datong
Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province of North China, located a few hundred kilometres west by rail from Beijing with an elevation of...
, and both share the same shooting locations. As usual, Jia's regular collaborator Yu Lik-wai
Yu Lik-wai
Yu Lik-wai is a Hong Kong cinematographer, film director, and occasional film producer. Born in Hong Kong, Yu was educated at Belgium's INSAS where he graduated with a degree in cinematography in 1994...
served as the film's director of photography.
The film also screened at the 2002 Marseille Festival of Documentary Film
Marseille Festival of Documentary Film
Marseille International Festival of Documentary Film is a documentary film festival held yearly since 1989 in Marseille, France. The festival awards grand prizes in international and national categories...
, where it won the Grand Prix.
Background
In Public was made and submitted by Jia as part of a program at the 2001 Jeonju International Film FestivalJeonju International Film Festival
The Jeonju International Film Festival has been held annually since 2000 in Jeonju, South Korea, focusing on digital, independent and art films.-2000:*April 28-May 4: 184 films from 21 countries...
, where three directors were asked to produce a short film in digital video. The other two directors who produced entries that year were Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang
Tsai Ming-liang
Tsai Ming-liang is one of the most celebrated "Second New Wave" film directors of Taiwanese Cinema, along with earlier contemporaries such as Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang...
and British director John Akomfrah. Setting up his camera in a train station in Datong
Datong
Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province of North China, located a few hundred kilometres west by rail from Beijing with an elevation of...
, Jia would eventually cobble together a film consisting of thirty shots over forty-five days.
Lacking in any formal plot, the film instead is content to capture seemingly mundane moments, customers asking for the train schedule, shots inside public buses, etc. The result, according to Chinese film scholar Berenice Reynaud, is a film that captures the "ennui, backwardness, and dreary atmosphere of a small town, and the impatience, hidden desires and private concerns of its inhabitants." For Jia, the film was a chance to focus on the public spaces in a modern provincial city of China: the train stations, discos, and karaokes of Datong
Datong
Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province of North China, located a few hundred kilometres west by rail from Beijing with an elevation of...
.
Relationship to Unknown Pleasures
While filming In Public, Jia became interested in not only the desolate-looking buildings that had originally attracted him to the city, but to the people who inhabited them. Moreover, Jia came to realize that filming with digital video would allow him unprecedented flexibility and movement, inspiring him to begin production of Unknown Pleasures. As Jia stated at a news conference following the release of Unknown Pleasures: "At first it was the bleak and lonely buildings that attracted me. When I saw the streets filled with lonely, directionless people, I became interested in them."One critic, however, sees the film as more of a positive depiction of humanity than seen in Unknown Pleasures, noting that the film's final scene of people dancing in a dilapidated community center (the same center that opens the later film) elicits a sense of "people persevering despite the impoverishment of their existence." Unknown Pleasures, in contrast, is "incendiary bleakness and outrage."
Stylistically, In Public fits well into the Jia oeuvre. It situates itself between Jia's Platform and Unknown Pleasures, with the long takes of the former and the same desolate locations of the latter.
See also
- Digital videoDigital videoDigital video is a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article.- History :...
- Unknown PleasuresUnknown Pleasures (film)Unknown Pleasures is a 2002 Chinese film directed by Jia Zhangke, starring Wu Qiong, Zhao Weiwei and Zhao Tao as three disaffected youths living in Datong in 2001, part of the new "Birth Control" generation...
- DatongDatongDatong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province of North China, located a few hundred kilometres west by rail from Beijing with an elevation of...
, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
External links
- In Public at the Chinese Movie Database