A huge critical hit at the Toronto Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival and the fourth feature by acclaimed Chinese director Jia Zhangke -- called "the world's greatest filmmaker under forty" by the Village Voice -- THE WORLD is a rich, enveloping film that continues the director's exploration of contemporary life in China under capitalism and out of the provinces. In THE WORLD, Jia follows the young, bored employees of World Park -- a real-life Beijing theme park with scaled-down replicas of major landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, and even the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center -- as they labor, carouse, fall in love, and struggle in various ways with extravagant illusions and alienation. Complete with lavish musical numbers and animated segments, THE WORLD is a powerful commentary on globalization and a "beautiful, corrosive, visionary masterpiece" (Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader) that testifies to the talent of one the world's most exciting filmmakers.

FILM LINKS

* View Trailer
* Official Website
* Jonathan Rosenbaum video review
* Senses of Cinema interview
with Jia Zhangke