‘Caught by the Tides' builds a new film from the existing works of its director
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The press kit describes the film as 'mix of fiction and documentary, featuring a cascade of images taken from previous movies, unused scenes, and newly shot dramatic sequences.' Using footage shot over 23 years, Jia crafts a meandering series of montages that subtly documents the passage of time through geographical and societal changes.
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As such, this film's main characters, Qiao Qiao (Zhao Tao) and her estranged lover, Brother Bin (Li Zhubin), age naturally, but not in the same way. One appears more affected by time than the other, which is revealed in a stunning close-up late in the film. We're witnessing 23 years of change over the course of two hours; the result is more effective than any fake movie magic could conjure.
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Zhao Tao and Li Zhubin in Jia Zhangke's 'Caught by the Tides.''Caught by the Tides.'
Sideshow and Janus Films
It's even more dramatic if you know that these two characters initially met in Jia's second film, 2002's 'Unknown Pleasures.' Through B-roll and actual footage from that film, you see them as they were back then.
Comparisons can be made to
Li Zhubin in Jia Zhangke's 'Caught by the Tides.'
Sideshow and Janus Films
The film also chronicles the displacement of people as a result of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, using documentary footage shot since 2011. This isn't surprising given Jia's interest in the affected residents from Northern Shanxi to Southern Guangdong.
'Caught by the Tides' fashions a thin narrative thread that follows Qiao Qiao from the Chinese mining town of Datong to Beijing as she searches for Bin. He left her to seek better opportunities, promising to send for her once he finds work. But his constant radio silence worries Qiao Qiao, leading her on a somewhat quixotic journey to discover why.
The non-linear structure employed here forces us to pay careful attention to figure out where we are, but Jia doesn't leave us completely in the dark. For example, intertitles with dates and locations are intermittently shown. And the changes in footage quality, camera type, and aspect ratio provide clues as to timeframe.
Jia also pays special attention to technological advancements like updated cell phones and the emergence of artificial intelligence. The appearance of a friendly robot who reads people's faces and responds with reaffirming quotes is an amusing bright spot in the film's final segment, set in 2023.
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Zhao Tao in Jia Zhangke's 'Caught by the Tides.'
Sideshow and Janus Films
Intertitles are also used on occasion to tell us what Qiao Qiao is texting or saying. She can speak, but we only hear her sing (there is more singing here than dialogue). Zhao, who is Jia's wife, muse, and collaborator, proves Norma Desmond's adage about why the silents didn't need dialogue: She has one of the most expressive faces in cinema, and her director loves to depict her in motion in his films, usually dancing to needle drops or at clubs.
The newest footage, shot during the pandemic, brings 'Caught by the Tides' to a poignant coda. There's a great, shade-filled swipe at the United States controversy over wearing masks, and when Bin and Qiao Qiao remove their masks in their final scene together, it's a bittersweet moment.
While I was never bored, I felt somewhat disconnected from this movie. It's not that I wasn't engaged or involved—I enjoy when a movie makes me work for its pleasures—it just felt like I was missing so much and left me wishing I'd seen more of the director's movies. By all means, see this film if you're interested. Just know you might have to do some homework afterwards.
★★★
CAUGHT BY THE TIDES
Directed by Jia Zhangke. Written by Jia, Jiahuan Wan. Starring Zhao Tao, Li Zhubin. At the Brattle. 111 min. Unrated.
Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.
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