“Still Life”, directed by Zhang Jia Ke, is a detailed and contemplative slice-of-life drama that shines a spotlight on contemporary working-class China. Set during the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, Zhang weaves together two distinct stories of outsiders coming to the village of Fengjie to search for lost spouses.
In the first narrative, a middle-aged coalminer arrives from Shanxi Province to reunite with his ex-wife whom he hasn’t seen for sixteen years. Upon learning that she has moved to another town to work and only sporadically visits Fengjie, he decides to stay on indefinitely to work on a demolition project while awaiting her return. The second story focuses on a young nurse who is trying to track down her missing husband who abandoned the family two years ago. She is helped in her quest by her husband’s friend, a local archaeologist. Through the time they spend in Fengjie, both characters come to understand the impact the dam project has had on the local people and how it has influenced their own lives.
As the human drama unfolds, “Still Life” also explores the story of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam which looms as an important character in itself, shaping everyone’s lives. The dam can be viewed as a metaphor for dislocation and the cycle of destruction and renewal. We see the impact on the local inhabitants who have no choice but to adapt as old buildings and entire villages are demolished and established ways of life are lost. This theme of destruction/reconstruction is also mirrored in the stories of the two main characters.
The documentary visual style of “Still Life”, with its detailed attention to people and places, heightens its emotional impact. We realize that what’s been captured on film is a historic transition, an archival record of the human cost of China’s rapid fire modernization.
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