Legendary Chinese director Jia Zhangke (A Touch of Sin) returns with a decades-spanning drama abotu a young woman who marries for money, a parable of China's embrace of materialism and the ways it has affected the bonds of family and tradition.

It follows Tao (Zhao Tao), a beautiful and spirited woman at three separate points in her life - 1999, 2014 and 2025 - and her relationships with flashy Zang and stoic worker Liangzi. The repercussions of her choices - which also represent China's embrace of capitalism - will resonate throughout the years. What follows is another absorbing, expansive film from Zhangke as he continues to explore ideas of alienation and the role of modern China.

Utterly compelling, this is humanist cinema with a powerful political core.

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