“Face” as Method: Aesthetic Experiment and Era Reflections in Jia Zhangke’s Caught by the Tides
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: In Jia Zhangke’s Caught by the Tides, the “face” serves not only as a visual subject but also as a methodology. Continuing the previous realistic shooting style, this film utilizes the faces of ordinary individuals as a poignant commentary on the era. Simultaneously, by leveraging the proper noun “Zhao Tao’s face,” it achieves nonverbal emotional expression while sketching the evolution of Chinese independent film aesthetics. Compared to faces captured in moving images, the faces of lifelike “quasi-human” sculpture resist being fixed as mere images through their vivid presence, autonomously generating narrative momentum by being viewed across different times and spaces. Moreover, in this media age of breakneck technological advancement, the “crisis of the face” has also transformed into a broader “existential crisis.” How to preserve the warmth and vitality of the human face may be the most profound and provocative question the film leaves its audience.
Source: Arts
DOI: 10.3390/arts14060150
Author: Hanbin Wang
Institution: Chinese National Academy of Arts
Language: English
Topic: Cinema History and Criticism
Subfield: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,689
Awards: G1904168953, G671720177
OpenAlex ID: W4416417003