The mainland Chinese director Jia Zhangke’s film “The Generation of the Wind” with his wife Zhao Tao in the lead role was released in mainland China on November 22nd. During the 22-day release window, the film only grossed 10.31 million yuan, leaving Jia Zhangke facing potential substantial losses for the first time. After the film’s public screening concluded on December 14th, Jia Zhangke released a 15-minute farewell video, reflecting on the challenges and difficulties encountered during the filming, editing, and release of the movie. Meanwhile, the film skipped traditional cinema release and went directly to video platforms.
“Generation of the Wind” depicts the emotional journey of an ordinary woman from the beginning of the millennium to today, reflecting the social changes in China over the past 20 years. The film’s creation dates back to 2001 under the title “The Man with a Digital Camera.” With the advent of the new millennium, digital cameras were just becoming popular, offering Jia Zhangke a flexible tool to capture the film he wanted to make the most – entering life directly with a camera without the need to plan character relationships and plot progress, documenting both documentary and fictional elements simultaneously in real-life settings.
Over the past 20 years, Jia Zhangke has directed many films such as “Unknown Pleasures,” “The World,” “Still Life,” “A Touch of Sin,” and “Mountains May Depart,” but the film originally titled “The Man with a Digital Camera” was intermittently in production until the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which made him feel the need to conclude it. Consequently, in 2022, he shot contemporary images to blend with previously accumulated footage and edited it into “Generation of the Wind.”
Featuring footage shot over different periods using various equipment, including DV, film, VR devices, and static images, the original title “The Man with a Digital Camera” seemed no longer relevant. The new title “Generation of the Wind” aligns more with the historical growth of the protagonist. The English title of the film “Caught by the Tides” hints at another layer of meaning behind the “Generation of the Wind,” being “trapped by (artificial intelligence, bioengineering, autonomous driving, etc.) waves.”
The film’s main characters, Keke and Bingge, are frequent figures in Jia Zhangke’s works, appearing in films like “Unknown Pleasures” and “Ash Is Purest White.” “Generation of the Wind” features footage from his previous works such as “Still Life,” “Unknown Pleasures,” and “Mountains May Depart.” The use of footage from past works has sparked some criticism.
In May of this year, “Generation of the Wind” was selected for the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where initial viewers gave polarized reviews. Some viewers criticized Jia Zhangke, saying, “Jia Zhangke filming ‘Generation of the Wind’ is like cooking without a recipe, just using whatever is left in the fridge.”
The 22-year timeline of the film was a major selling point, with wearing masks and cotton swab testing for COVID-19 becoming the so-called “bold scenes.” Before the film’s release, Jia Zhangke promoted it with the slogan “Filmed for 22 years, screened for 22 days.” Viewers commented that after watching the movie, they found fragmented storylines merely strung together according to the timeline, with a variety of materials resembling leftovers from Jia Zhangke’s previous films pieced together to form this movie.
During the film’s release period, Jia Zhangke toured tirelessly, appearing in over 20 cities and 67 cinemas until the last day of screening. However, despite this demanding journey, the film only earned 10.31 million yuan at the box office, with a mere 3.53 million going to the production company, marking Jia Zhangke’s first encounter with substantial losses.
As an independent film director and screenwriter in mainland China, Jia Zhangke has been known for his films not attracting large audiences but consistently staying financially afloat, a cherished story within the industry. Looking back on Jia Zhangke’s previous films, almost all of them have been modestly profitable.
Jia Zhangke’s debut feature film “Xiao Wu” gained attention in the international film scene, ultimately netting 5 million yuan in profit, marking Jia Zhangke’s first financial success and leading to a 20-year collaboration with Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano. Kitano invested 5 million yuan in Jia Zhangke’s second film “Platform” and handled the overseas distribution, significantly covering Jia Zhangke’s costs. Despite being overshadowed by the Communist Party’s highly acclaimed film “Curse of the Golden Flower,” “Still Life” sold rights to 75 countries, earning over 40 million. In 2015, “Mountains May Depart” had an investment of over 40 million, and Jia Zhangke managed to break even through advanced rights sales with no pressure from box office returns.
Behind each success, Jia Zhangke’s two partners, “French MK2 Films” and “Japanese Kitano Takeshi’s Studio,” have consistently handled the overseas distribution of his films. However, in the case of “Generation of the Wind,” both partners were absent from the production company’s list, leading to speculations that the lack of lucrative overseas rights incomes, solely relying on the currently struggling mainland Chinese market, made substantial losses almost inevitable for the film.