The Olympics give us a great opportunity to learn about different countries in a non-judgmental way. The camaraderie between the athletes and those watching allows us to appreciate our worldly neighbors instead of only focusing on the politics of it all - which of course the people very little say in. Likewise, cinema allows us to learn about different countries in respectful ways, especially when the film focuses on the people and not the government. It is with that I decided to do a small series of foreign film recommendations based on celebrating the Olympic spirit and learning about the rest of the world with an open mind.

Today I give you a film from our Olympic host China. In the past weeks the focus on China has had to do with pollution, dirty politics in Darfur and their underage gymnasts. And while all of those things are supremely important, there is an entire country of people who have nothing to do with those issues outside of their personal carbon footprints.

One filmmaker that always does an amazing job of capturing the lives of everyday Chinese citizens is Jia Zhangke. He always manages to portray the important issues of the day but still make clear the individuals struggles people face.

Olympic Film Recommendation : CHINA

Jia Zhangke’s The World

The World is the story of a theme park on the outskirts of Beijing that features replicas of the the world’s most famous buildings and landscapes and the people who work there. The contrast between the excess of the park and the shows they put on with the lives of the people who work there in the lowest positions makes for a compelling examination of how the changing country affects those on the lowest level.

Even with the larger issues at hand (developed even more clearly below by Jonathan Rosenbaum) what Jia does so well is to make the individual lives of his characters so compelling. Their struggles are tangible and real - and in this case quite heartbreaking.

Read film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum’s summary, watch the trailer below and takepart to get your own copy of The World today and learn a bit about our Olympic hosts.

Suggesting at different moments a backstage musical, a failed love story, a surreal comedy, and even a cartoon fantasy, this beautiful, corrosive, visionary masterpiece by Jia Zhang-ke (2004) is a frighteningly persuasive account of the current state of the planet. Set in an eerie Beijing theme park–a kind of Chinese Las Vegas, with scaled-down duplicates of the most famous global landmarks–it follows a bunch of workers as they labor, carouse, couple, and uncouple, but it’s really about propping up extravagant illusions through alienated labor. Though Jia is one of the most respected directors in mainland China, this film was his first to get an official release there. In Mandarin and Shanxi dialect with subtitles. 139 min [Jonathan Rosenbaum]

Tomorrow - RUSSIA!

Read on:

• Still Life, Images of a Changing China
• Trailering Up The Yangtze River
• Film 24/7 at Cannes Film Festival : Jia Zhangke’s 24 City