Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
Still Life
Still Life Image
Metascore
81 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 10 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
Rate this:
  • Summary: Sam Ming makes a trip to the City of Fenjge to find his ex-wife and daughter. He has not seen them for several years. (Ad Vitam)

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    100
    The first great film of the year. It's beautiful but so much more-full of subtle feeling, framed by a monstrous, eroding landscape.
  2. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    100
    Few of China's Sixth Generation filmmakers have turned to their country's explosive economic growth and its attendant upheavals with so sharp an eye and so heavy a heart as Jia Zhang-ke.
  3. Variety
    Reviewed by: Derek Elley
    50
    Has almost zero plot but molto mood. It will appeal to the most faithful of the director's camp-followers and no one else.

See all 10 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. RobertH.
    7
    The film has it's moments but when compared to the director's previous efforts the filmmaking here strikes me as far too lazy, relying too much on the backdrop and nonactors at the cost of lackadaisical narrative. if you don't edit your view of life enough to focus our attention where's the art?… Expand
    • 0 of 1 users said yes
  2. ryancarroll88
    6
    Uncertainty is at the stem of Jia Zhangke's "Still Life" and it molds itself into many forms - uncertainty as to what China's economic boom holds for its future, displaced people uncertain whether they will ever see those they have lost again, and uncertainty over whether love that is broken can ever be mended. All of this takes place in the backdrop of Fengjie village, which was at the time being upheaved for the construction of Three Gorges Dam (now complete, and the largest electricity-generating plant in the world). Zhangke's use of a real setting provides for some powerful shots that have formed him into one of China's foremost artistic commentators, but this also diminishes the entertainment value (which, in my opinion, shouldn't have to be compromised in this type of filmmaking).… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

Recommended Products

  1. Chris & Don. A Love Story

    Chris & Don. A Love Story Image

  2. Moving Midway

    • Release Date: Sep 12, 2008
    Moving Midway Image

  3. Sunset Story

    • Release Date: Feb 4, 2005
    Sunset Story Image

Current Movie Releases

Full List »
  1. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
    Metascore: 73
  2. War Horse
    Metascore: 72
  3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
    Metascore: 71
  4. The Adventures of Tintin
    Metascore: 68
  5. Haywire
    Metascore: 67
  6. The Grey
    Metascore: 64
  7. The Woman in Black
    Metascore: 62
  8. The Iron Lady
    Metascore: 54
  9. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
    Metascore: 48
  10. Red Tails
    Metascore: 46
  11. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
    Metascore: 46
  12. Underworld Awakening
    Metascore: 39
  13. One for the Money
    Metascore: 22
  14. The Devil Inside
    Metascore: 18
  15. The Darkest Hour
    Metascore: 16
All Current Movies »