Jia Zhangke's gangster epic: a twisting tale of love and survival
① "Ash Is Purest White," Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke's most serious foray into the gangster genre since "A Touch of Sin," is a winding tale of love, disillusionment and survival that again represents his vision of his country's spiritual trajectory.
② At 141 minutes, the work has its intellectually ponderous moments but is ultimately saved by Jia's muse and wife, Zhao Tao, who surpasses herself in a role of mesmerizing complexity.
③ The evolution of contemporary China has always been Jia's central theme, while Western influences and technology have pierced cultural insularity. That canvas is more casually observed here than in some of the director's earlier films.
④ Cinephile anticipation for anything helmed by the onetime Godfather of Chinese independent cinema will give this Chinese-French co-production a forceful push into Euro-art-house territories.
⑤ Domestic response may depend on whether the work nabs any awards at Cannes, as in the case of the Berlin Golden Bear winner "Black Coal, Thin Ice," which starred "Ash" leading man Liao Fan.
▍生词好句
gangster /ˈɡæŋstər/: n. 黑帮
epic /ˈepɪk/: n. 史诗
a tale of /teɪl/: 一个关于……的故事
twisting /twɪstɪŋ/: adj. 曲折的；扭曲的
auteur /əʊˈtɜː, əʊˈtɜːr/: n. 电影导演 (有强烈个人风格的，执着于某种主题的，对自己的作品有绝对掌控力的)
foray into /ˈfɒreɪ, ˈfɔːreɪ/: 进军、尝试进入 (某个陌生的领域)
· make a foray into: 进军某个领域
Wanda made its first foray into film industry almost 10 years ago.
早在十年之前，万达就开始进军电影行业了。
This book is the novelist's first foray into nonfiction.
这本书是这位小说家第一次尝试写非虚构类作品。
genre /ˈʒɒnrə, ˈʒɑːnrə/: n. (文学、艺术的) 种类；派别
winding /waɪndɪŋ/: adj. 弯曲的；蜿蜒的
disillusionment /ˌdɪsəˈluːʒənmənt/: n. 幻灭；觉醒
represent /ˌreprɪˈzent/: vt. 展现；象征
spiritual trajectory /trəˈdʒektəri/: 精神轨迹
· life trajectory: 人生轨迹
· professional trajectory: 职业轨迹
intellectually ponderous: 很有思想深度的；晦涩的；理解困难的
· ponderous /ˈpɒndərəs, ˈpɑːndərəs/: adj. 沉重的；厚重的
ultimately /ˈʌltəmətli/: adv. 最终
surpass /səˈpɑːs, sərˈpæs/: vt. 超越；超过
mesmerizing /ˈmezməraɪzɪŋ/: adj. 迷人的；迷惑的；有吸引力的
oxymoron /ˌɒksiˈmɔːrɒn, ˌɑːksiˈmɔːrɑːn/: n. 矛盾修辞法；逆喻
cultural insularity /ˌɪnsjəˈlærəti/: 文化孤立
canvas /ˈkænvəs/: n. (电影等文艺作品的) 背景，故事设定；画布
cinephile /ˈsɪnɪfaɪl/: n. 影迷；电影爱好者
· cinephilia: n. 迷影网
helm /helm/: vt. 导演 (影片)；指挥；掌舵
onetime /ˈwʌntaɪm/: adj. 从前的；一度的
nab /næb/: vt. 拿到；捕获
star /stɑː, stɑːr/: vt. 由……主演 vi. 担任主演 n. 星星；明星