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Unknown Pleasures

Unknown Pleasures (2002)

tomatometer

75

Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 8
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 2

No consensus yet.

audience

65

liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 1,328

My Rating

Movie Info

Unknown Pleasures takes place in China, in the small city of Datong, in 2001, where disaffected teenagers look for any kind of excitement to enliven their dreary existence. Bin Bin (Zhao Wei Wei) dates a quiet student, Yuan Yuan (Zhou Qing Feng) who's thinking of going to university in Beijing. They spend their time together holding hands, watching karaoke and Monkey King videos, and despairing for the future. Bin Bin envies the Monkey King his freedom. Bin Bin has quit his job at a local

Unrated,

Art House & International, Drama

,

Zhang Ke Jia

Mar 16, 2004

New Yorker Films - Official Site External Icon

Cast

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All Critics (30) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (11) | DVD (7)

Jia creates some poignant images to convey key transitions in the characters' lives.

January 11, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety
Variety
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[Director Zhang-ke] Jia's virtuoso long takes, choreographed mise en scene, and feeling for character and behavior place him in a class by himself.

January 11, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
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Lays bare the tao of contemporary China, like a doctor taking a pulse.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
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Too much is left unsaid.

April 11, 2003 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
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A stunning study of ennui.

March 26, 2003
New York Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

May be Jia's most concentrated evocation of contemporary China's spiritual malaise.

March 25, 2003 Full Review Source: Village Voice
Village Voice
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A steady look at youth's restlessness, here filtered through the ugly immediacy of day-to-day life in China.

July 29, 2004 Full Review Source: F5 (Wichita, KS)

One of the better films of the 21st century.

March 29, 2004 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

If you don't buy this DVD for the lousy video transfer, at least buy it for the critics quoted on the cover (wink, wink).

March 29, 2004 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine

The film just sits there, staring back at us.

June 27, 2003 Full Review
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Jia Zhang Ke delivers what may well be his finest work to date.

June 24, 2003 Full Review Source: BBC

In its effort to evoke pity, Unknown Pleasures chiefly evokes agitation and frustration.

May 1, 2003 Full Review Source: Oregonian
Oregonian

despite the distinct lack of good times and belly laughs, Unknown Pleasures is a great film.

April 11, 2003 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid
Combustible Celluloid

Despite the fact that there's little dramatic arc, little dialogue and little joy in the lives of its characters, Unknown Pleasures is riveting.

April 7, 2003 Full Review Source: culturevulture.net
culturevulture.net

[Music] has the ability to connect with everyone, and perhaps international audiences will connect with the Chinese youth of Unknown Pleasures for the exact same reason.

April 4, 2003 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com
Filmcritic.com

Hard to turn away from, but also damn hard to sit through ... there is a difference between inspiring a sense of alienation in one's audience, and merely alienating them

April 4, 2003 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com
eFilmCritic.com

This sequel to Jia's excellent 1997 drama Xiao Wu is less original and absorbing than its predecessor, and less visually impressive than Platform.

April 3, 2003 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor
Christian Science Monitor

Audience Reviews for Unknown Pleasures

I understand what was being done and being said, but in the end it just fails to captivate its viewer. The shots are just too long and the characters are not interesting enough for a two hour movie centered around character development. Shooting this on digital video was a nice choice, but that's about the best thing I can say about this. It was the only sense of realism that worked. The influences of this are bright as day and it's easy to conclude that they are all movies i'd rather have watched instead of this.
April 18, 2011
ythelastman89

Super Reviewer

A story of disaffected youth in modern-day China. Provides some interesting insights into Chinese version of Socialist society, but aside from that, not the most exciting cinematic experience. A well-made movie though, clearly influenced by Western cinema.
January 7, 2013
GabrielKnight
Gabriel Knight
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Foreign Titles

  • Unknown Pleasures (Ren xiao yao) (DE)
  • Unknown Pleasures (Ren xiao yao) (UK)
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