American Women's Club of Hamburg Currents Magazine January 2014 | Page 38

AR TS & ENTER TAINMENT
finally to leave his wife. She faces reality, accepts
a job in a sauna and resists the advances of a rich
customer. Xao Hui is a young man, almost still a
boy, who owes money and works as a waiter in a
night club; this job fails and no one can guide him
to any kind of auspicious future so that he solves
the problem in his own way. All four solutions are
violent.

focus on a world where virtual communication is
king and face to face communication is becoming
a lost skill.
In one storyline, Nina (Andrea Riseborough) is an
ambitious TV reporter doing a story on Kyle (Max
Thieriot), an underage chat room stripper. Nina’s
quest for the story results in dramatic repercussions
for the young man. Meanwhile, a young couple
(Paula Patton / Alexander Skarsgård) struggle
with the loss of their baby son by going online to
find solace in chat rooms and gambling sites. Their
online sharing of detailed and personal information
leads them to become victims of identity theft.
After the police are unable to assist them in
finding the culprit they turn to a specialised private
investigator (Frank Grillo) to track down and stop
the identity thief.   Unbeknownst to the private
investigator his own son is involved in another
form of online crime, cyber bullying. The bullies
hone in on Adam (Jonah Bobo) an awkward
kid who can not connect with the kids at school
but does find it easy to connect with ‘Jessica’, a
bogus female persona made up by the bullies for
sport. The game spirals out of control when this
vulnerable boy’s naked photo is sent to the entire
school. Adam is mortified and takes drastic steps to
end his suffering.

Director Jia Zhangke said in a recent interview,
“This film concerns four deaths, which actually
happened in China over the last few years: three
murders and one suicide. The Chinese population
is well informed about the details, which happened
in Shanxi, Chongquing, Hubei, and Guangdong
– a huge area which reaches from north to south.
I wanted to adapt these news reports into an all
encompassing portrait of life in modern China.”
He also said that he tried to incorporate the idea
of Wuxia, or martial arts films; the title purposely
resembles A Touch of Zen, a famous kung fu film by
King Hu in 1971. I am amazed that this film could
ever show in China, a country which still tries to
project an image of a fair (if not always good)
life for all. That is not so. Jia Zhangke goes on to
say that since the era of Mao, the rate of robbery
has increased 3000-fold and “China is the most
capitalistic country in the world.” The film showed
in all the major world film festivals: London, New
York, Vancouver, Abu Dhabi, Toronto, Munich,
etc. It won best screenplay at the 2103 Cannes
If you do not directly identify with one of these
Film Festival. (Becky T.)
three scenarios you will know someone who does.
The inability of individuals to connect with each
Disconnect * * * *
other and the increased personal sharing online is
as scary as it is factual in our society today. This is a
Starts January 30
cautionary tale leaving us to think about our need
Disconnect deals with a number of common issues to reconnect in the real word. (Christine R.)
in our society today that result from the negative
side of communication technology. The film by
director Henry Alex Rubin follows three stories that
38

American Women’s Club of Hamburg e.V.