Platform (2000) – Jia Zhang-ke

The reason I get so excited about a moment like 00:47 in Platform is because these are moments of such tenderness. And is it not the people who watch these films who are (of all people) the most in need of these moments.

The Jia Zhang-ke swivel. The “big” swivel.

Roughly twenty minutes in there is this long shot—intimate, natural // this is the antithesis of “stage theatre”

Also note oversized architecture as if built for giants and/or more people than there seem to be there now. Interesting, delightful, spooky.

00:30 Another great scene, between two young lovers—the camera swivels to reveal so much, like tracking without tracking. JZ does this better than, than anyone? And again the visual revelations: we see his old girlfriend was there waiting, but we didn’t know it until later. But she was there! // this creates a strange feeling in us.

00:44 What don’t I know?

00:48 “foreign devil” = Lu Xun’s “imitation foreign devil.” Ha!

1:07 “So close, yet so far”

What the fuck? This is so great.