The World

At The World theme park on the outskirts of Beijing, iconic landmarks -- ranging from the Eiffel Tower to the Taj Mahal -- have been recreated for the delight of tourists. It is in this world, where everything is artificial and nothing is real, that the park's employees -- among them the dancer Tao and the security guard Taishen -- come together and drift apart in a cycle of cohesion and alienation that reportedly mirrors China's rapid modernization. With a simple grasp, director Jia Zhang-Ke succeeds, paradoxically, in creating a poetic and intimate film about the universal consequences of globalisation.

Directed by: Zhangke Jia
Starring: Tao Zhao, Taishen Cheng, Jue Jing
Country/year: China, Japan, France, Hong Kong, 2004
Running time: 138 min.
Formato: DCP
Language: English subtitles
Age limit: Allowed for children over 15 years old
Original title: Shijie

Part of the series: Filmuniversitetet - morgen
In collaboration with Film and Media Studies at the University of Copenhagen, Cinemateket shows important film historical milestones. The films are shown on Tuesday mornings at 9.15am and always with a 15-minute introduction by the university's film history experts.