Art College 1994
China • 2023The latest work from animator Liu Jian (Have A Nice Day, Piercing)...
1990s, China. A motley gang of Chinese art students fill their languid days with inchoate musings about aesthetics, philosophy and the promised ‘good’ life after graduation. A portrait of youth, the students live in full swing as they take their first steps into adulthood, where love and friendships are intertwined with artistic pursuits, ideals and ambitions. Caught between tradition and modernity, they now have to choose who they want to become.
Amidst idle moments and flashes of artistic inspiration, Xiaojun (voiced by Dong Zijian) epitomises the quintessential romantic, fashioning himself in the image of grunge idol Kurt Cobain. His partner-in-crime, Rabbit (Chizi), provides a stabilizing anchor with his unfiltered wit, grounding their collective aspirations.
With a strikingly distinctive animation style, heightened by the resonant voiceovers of Bi Gan and Jia Zhangke, the film serves as a captivating lens through which we glimpse the inherent contradictions in a country presciently anticipating the imminent turn of the globalized millennium.
Directed by: Liu Jian
Written by: Liu Jian, Lin Shan
Starring: Dong Zijian, Chizi, Zhou Dongyu, Jia Zhangke, and Bi Gan
Run time: 118 minutes
Language: Mandarin Chinese and English
Subtitles: English
Color: Color
Format: 2.35:1
Sound: 5.1
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Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Boston Seaport Boston, MA • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Downtown Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA. •. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema LaCenterra Katy, TX • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema La Vista Omaha, NE • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Lower Manhattan New York, NY • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Montecillo El Paso, TX • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema New Mission San Francisco, CA • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Raleigh Raleigh, NC • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Sloans Lake Denver, CO • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema South Lamar Austin, TX • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Wrigleyville Chicago, IL • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Yonkers Yonkers, NY • Animation Is Film Festival Los Angeles, CA • Austin Film Society Austin, TX • Cinestudio Hartford, CT • Heavy Manners Library Los Angeles, CA • Houston Cinema Arts Festival Houston, TX • Laemmle Noho North Hollywood, CA • Lumiere Music Hall Beverly Hills, CA • Metrograph New York, NY • New York Asian Film Festival New York, NY • Roxie Theater San Francisco, CA • Webster Film Series Saint Louis, MO
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