China’s rapid changes from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, as seen through the lives of four performers in a theater troupe.
Direction
Jia's signature long takes capture time itself.
Cinematography
Dusty Fenyang streets look impossibly lived-in.
Production
Authentic period detail from bikes to boomboxes.
Director
Jia Zhangke
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Jia shot in his actual hometown of Fenyang with mostly non-professional actors, including his cousin Han Sanming as Sanming.
The title refers to a real 1980s Chinese pop song about waiting — the entire film is structured around songs that disappear from cultural memory.
HK
