Review: Jia Zhangke's Ambitious 'Mountains May Depart'

This is a reprint of our review from the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

China is becoming ever-more influential on world cinema. Tentpoles now frequently make as much money there as they do in the U.S., which has led to blockbusters being tooled and aimed specifically towards those audiences. It seems unlikely that this new cultural exchange will continue to be a one-way relationship, and it's only a matter of time before Chinese filmmakers becomes household names. It's unlikely to be Jia Zhangke, but he's already a very familiar figure among cinephiles. The 45-year-old is widely seen as the best Chinese filmmaker of his generation, having won the Golden Lion at Venice for "Still Life" in 2006, and he has continued to attract attention ever since, most notably with 2013's "A Touch Of Sin," which picked up the screenwriting prize at Cannes that year. He's back in competition at the festival this year with "Mountains May Depart," his most ambitious effort...