Playful and moody, naturalistic and surreal, Still Life is a film not to be missed.
Comment
07/17/09
Still Life (2008)
91
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:43
Fresh:39
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.8/10
Consensus: Zhangke spellbindingly captures the human cost of rapid industrialization in modern China.
Theatrical Release:2006
Synopsis: Fengjie’s old town is already under water, but its new neighbourhood hasn’t been finished yet. There are things to salvage and there are things to leave behind… Han Sanming, a miner, travels to... [More]
Get This Movie
Reviews for Still Life
Click to read the article
03/27/09
Top CriticMore than a million people have been displaced in central China in the cause of generating electrical power to meet the needs of the future; Jia's flowing river of a picture washes over a few of them as they adjust to life's currents in the present.
11/24/08
Top CriticThe despondent tone is lifted by moments of hope and, surprisingly, hilarity.
11/20/08
Still Life is a moody undertaking, with little action but plenty going on.
10/18/08
Jia Zhang Ke is perhaps the most distinctive director working in China now.
10/18/08
Still Life is all about these common people existing in a world that seems more and more unreal
10/13/08
Simply one of the best films of last year, this year, or any year likely to come.
10/03/08
An extraordinary glimpse into the psychology, subtext and austere reality of modern Chinese culture.
09/26/08
Director Jia Zhang-ke sees the urbanization of China through the eyes of the relocated laborers.
09/26/08
Jia has taken supposedly naturalistic approach to filmmaking and, here at least, uses amateur actors and other fresh faces. A few of these newcomers are stiff and appear to be uncomfortable on camera.
07/23/08
The rising waters of the Yangtze become a melancholy backdrop for a diaspora in which people try to establish some connection in a place where their old lives literally are being washed away.
07/10/08
Richly rewarding to those willing to roll with its deliberate rhythms.
06/27/08
Jia chose a great setting, but don't give him too much credit
06/19/08
As much an exploration of emotional and cultural problems in modern day China, as it is the tale of one man's lost love.
06/14/08
Never has destruction looked more beautiful than the demolished buildings in Jia Zhang-ke's Still Life.
05/09/08
Top CriticA dazzling package, filled with award-worthy cinematography and pacing.
05/08/08
Writer-director Jia Zhangke is a keen observer of the effects of the break-neck modernization that is stampeding China toward a future that no one can predict, control, or contain.
04/14/08
Top CriticContains some of the most inerrant, beautiful compositions you will see in a theater this year.
02/28/08
Jia Zhang-ke is a new auteur making his mark. Embraced abroad on the international festival circuit, if less welcome on screens in China, this writer-director works in a genre that could be called globalist.
02/22/08
Top CriticLatest News for Still Life
December 09, 2008:
L.A. Critics Love WALL-E, The Dark Knight
The 34th annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, held January 12, honored Manoel de Oliveira -- as well as a number of outstanding films and filmmakers, all listed... More...
January 17, 2008:
Critics' Consensus: Cloverfield is Monstrously Fun, 27 Dresses Fails to Impress, Mad Money Not Worth Much
This week at the movies, we've got monster mayhem (Cloverfield, starring Michael Stahl-David), marital mishaps (27 Dresses, starring Katherine Heigl), and heist hilarity (Mad... More...
November 08, 2006:
RTIndie: An Art-House Catfight for the Oscars?
Helen Mirren's astoundingly successful biopic "The Queen" is getting some serious competition from Pedro Almodovar's latest, as "Volver" has emerged a... More...
September 25, 2006:
Toronto Wrapup: Senh, Jen And Tim's Raves And Rants From The Festival
We saw some great movies, some of them big ("Babel") and some tiny ("The Patterns Trilogy"). We saw some interesting failures ("The Banquet") and... More...
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Best Sci-Fi This Decade 
Techland lists the best Sci-Fi films of this decade.
40 Worst Films of the 2000s
Moviefone takes a look back at the biggest stinkers of the past 10 years.
10 Questions For Zac Efron
The Me and Orson Welles star answers reader questions on TIME.com.
Best Decade Ever!
Hollywood.com's C. Robert Cargill offers his thoughts on what the best decade for film was.
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
In the AV Club's "Scenic Routes," Mike D'Angelo reminisces about the Tim Burton film.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN RSS Feeds