The word "epic" is used quite carelessly, but Chinese author Jia Zhangke (Pacific Life, A touch of sin) has earned the description with the long, beautiful gangster drama Ash is the purest white.
The story is a woman's life in three acts and takes on 2001 when we meet Zhao Qiao, girlfriend of the gangster boss Bin. They are bound to Jianghu, a triad society outside with hard keys, pride, honor.
Bein's criminal fraternity owns the streets of the small mining town of Datong. The price of coal has gone down and the city is getting poorer. Qiao would like the couple to abandon their risky lifestyle and move, but Bin does not listen.
One night, Bin gets gang-raped by some subcontractors trying to take over his business. Qiao defends her husband, causing her to go to prison.
Then the years go by and when Qiao comes out she tries to find Bin who is difficult to find.
Qiao soon learns that much can happen in five years. Love can be replaced, loyalty can be abandoned, codes can be broken. In a stylish way, Jia Zhang-ke shows how Qiao is forced to release her illusions and learn to live and survive betrayal. She finds creative solutions like playing on men's expectations, but she happens to suffer from blows.
Qiao gets used to gangster tricks when nothing else helps.
Following Qiao's hard journey becomes an insight into jianghu culture rites and traditions for 18 years, in relation to a rapidly changing China.
Zhao Tao starring carries the entire film with her nuanced portrait of Qiao, thrown between extreme challenges but still landing on her feet. Jia Zhangke also makes subtle references to the acrobatic violence in John Woos Hong Kong films and some scenes are expertly choreographed explosions of violence.
Yet Jia bases everything in a hyperrealism that places a greater focus on the relationships between people who have chosen to live outside society. The photo is beautifully composed and the tones alternate between the different time periods. The soft colors and leisurely pace marry perfectly with the underworld where Jia Zhangke frames the action.
The film may be slightly elongated and will almost stop in some parties, but it is a cheap price to pay.