Jia Zhangke’s extraordinary body of work has doubled as a record of 21st-century China and its warp-speed transformations. Ash Is Purest White is at once his funniest and most emotionally generous film–a smart rumination on love and a 21st century, feminist take on the gangster film.
Zhao Tao, the filmmaker’s muse, and wife, stars as the formidable, quick-witted Qiao, a heroine for the ages.
in Mandarin with subtitles | 136 minutes
ENTHRALLING! -The New York Times
This is one of Zhangke’s peak achievements: pure cinema, and a story of the underworld UNLIKE ANYTHING YOU’VE SEEN BEFORE. -Chicago Tribune
Above all, there is Zhao Tao. Trained as a dancer, she has been the leading lady in many of Jia’s films, starting with “Platform” (2000), and his wife since 2012. Theirs may be the most fruitful partnership between a director and a spouse since Roberto Rossellini joined forces with Ingrid Bergman. -The New Yorker
Jia Zhang-ke has become a cinematic poet of the 21st century. – New York Magazine
Friday and Saturday, July 12 and 13
Apollo 11 – 6:30 – IU Fine Arts Theater
Ash is Purest White – 7:30 – IU Global & International Theater
Jimi Hendrix: Electric Church – 8:15 IU Fine Arts Theater
Sunday, July 14 at Bear’s Place
Apollo 11 – 5:15
Ash is Purest White – 7:30 – Last Chance!