The screening on 16 April will be introduced by Lu Xiaoning (SOAS).
As one of Jia Zhangke’s most ambitious works, Mountains May Depart spans three decades, tracing China’s rapid transformations through the intimate lens of a family drama. Set primarily in Jia’s native Fenyang and later partially in Australia, the film blends fiction with poetic realism. Importantly, as in many of Jia’s other works, it features a striking use of popular music - the Pet Shop Boys and Cantonese singer Sally Yeh - which not only evokes nostalgia but also underscores and drives the characters’ emotional journey across time and distance.
The story follows Tao, a woman in 1990s Fenyang, her lover Jiang, and her young son Dollar. Across three distinct periods, the 1990s, early 2000s, and 2025, the characters confront love, separation, and the changing currents of life, offering a poignant reflection on memory, belonging, and the passage of time.
