Jiang hu er nü

Jia Zhangke has been described as a chronicler of modern China. What applies to his entire oeuvre to date is also evident in condensed form in ASH IS PUREST WHITE, which spans three time periods - 2001, 2006 and 2018 - and also returns to characters and settings from earlier films. The internal reference can be seen in the lead character Qiao (and Zhao Tao who portrays her), who goes to prison for her criminal lover. Her subsequent search for him leads her first to the now flooded Three Gorges Dam and then to the northern metropolis of Shanxi. (mg)