PLATFORM

Spanning the decade between 1979 and 1989, Jia Zhang Ke's second feature is a chronicle of social change, from Maoist fanaticism to capitalist indolence, as traced through a group of young performers who live in a small town in Shanxi province. Initially, they are all members of a cultural commune singing propaganda operas before an impassive audience; as time passes and old-time ideological structures fade away, the troupe privatises and takes to the road, eventually offering break-dancing spectacles and punk rock concerts. Warm, lively, rich in character and beautifully staged, Platform recalls the early work of Hou Hsiao-hsien but with a political engagement all its own.