Introduced by Jason McGrath, Associate Professor of Modern Chinese Literature and Film, Department of Asian Languages and Literatures, University of Minnesota.
This epic road movie from acclaimed filmmaker Jia spans the years 1979 through 1990—a time when Deng Xiaoping’s Open Door policy elicited sweeping economic and cultural change. As foreign pop culture gradually permeates every aspect of life, a nomadic theater troupe changes its name to the “All-Star Rock and Breakdance Electronic Band” and trades propaganda theater for improvised pop songs and Western dance. In revealing the erosion of Maoist orthodoxy and the arrival of Western influence, Platform charts the mood of a country in permanent transition. 2000, 35mm, 154 minutes.
