Platform Q&A Session

Platform painstakingly depicts the transitions of its youthful protagonists along with those of society. The music present in the background gives a sense of the era, and this reporter, for one, found the choice of music amusing. After the screening was over, Jia Zhang-ke was given a large bouquet of flowers. The somewhat embarrassed director thanked the audience for coming out to watch such a long film, and thanked the film's Japanese staff for their cooperation in making the film. Like Jia's previous work, the film is set in the town of Fenyang, and the director explained that this was because of his own personal attachment to the region, and because he wanted audiences to get to know the people of the region and how they live. One woman in the audience mentioned that she was unable to forget the scene where one of the characters cuts his hair, to which the director responded, "Long hair is an expression of oppositional spirit, and I used to be that way too. The act of cutting his hair signifies a way of cutting himself off from his past." Many of the audience questions had to do with comparisons to Jia's earlier work, making it clear that he has a solidly devoted fan base. At the end of the session, the director said, "This film takes the social changes of the 1970s and 80s as its background, but for myself, I'm most interested in the way that people grow and change." The director's responses, as careful, thorough and truthful as his film, left a deep impression on this reporter. Director's Profile: Jia Zhangke Born in 1970 in Shanxi, China. Entered the Beijing Film Academy in 1993. In 1995, founded and independent film production group and directed the 55-minute video Xiao Shan Going Home, which won the Gold Prize at the Hong Kong Independent Film Awards. Full-length 16 mm graduation work Xiao Wu (1997) premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 1998, where it ran away with the Wolfgang Staudte Award for Best New Director, and has also taken the Grand Prize at three other film festivals.