A Touch of Sin

Name: A Touch of Sin
Genre: Drama
Released: October 4, 2013
Duration: 133 min
Rating: 76

2013

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Ratings

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7.9

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7.9	Your Score
7.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Ratings

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A Touch Of Sin (US)

Movie Details & Credits

Not Rated

Koch Lorber Films | Release Date: October 4, 2013

Summary: An angry miner, enraged by widespread corruption in his village, decides to take justice into his own hands. A rootless migrant discovers the infinite possibilities of owning a firearm. A young receptionist, who dates a married man and works at a local sauna, is pushed beyond her limits by an abusive client. And a young factory worker goesAn angry miner, enraged by widespread corruption in his village, decides to take justice into his own hands. A rootless migrant discovers the infinite possibilities of owning a firearm. A young receptionist, who dates a married man and works at a local sauna, is pushed beyond her limits by an abusive client. And a young factory worker goes from one discouraging job to the next, only to face increasingly degrading circumstances. [Kino Lorber]… Expand

Director: Zhang Ke Jia

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 133 min

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Awards & Rankings

75	#75 Best Movie of 2013

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

The New York Times - Manohla Dargis

Oct 3, 2013

A blistering fictionalized tale straight out of China, A Touch of Sin is at once monumental and human scale. Read full review

NPR - Mark Jenkins

Oct 4, 2013

A Touch of Sin is the most dramatic and even lurid of writer-director Jia Zhangke's movies. The film-festival star hasn't quite become a Chinese Tarantino, however. Read full review

Portland Oregonian - Marc Mohan

Jul 8, 2017

It’s a harrowing and impressive accomplishment (especially considering potential government censorship), and it shows how, in its mad rush toward modernity, China has become a land of haves and have-nots, where income inequality and lack of opportunity have made a mockery of the nation’s purported ideals. Sound familiar? Read full review

Village Voice - Stephanie Zacharek

Oct 1, 2013

In A Touch of Sin, Jia is attuned to, and saddened by, the violence he sees creeping through his country, caused at least partly by the ever-widening disparity between rich and poor. He ends on a note that's more haunting than hopeful. Read full review

Paste Magazine - Tim Grierson

Jul 8, 2017

Sadly, A Touch of Sin isn’t a movie that will have any trouble translating to other cultures. If anything, it’s upsetting how much Jia’s dark tale of murder, retribution and suicide echoes similar issues within America’s contentious class system. Read full review

Washington Post - John DeFore

Nov 21, 2013

Some sequences...depict gunplay that wouldn’t be out of place in a conventional crime film. But Jia offers a stark presentation (no music, few edits) that discourages vicarious thrills; the violence is startling, not cool. Read full review

Time Out London - Guy Lodge

May 27, 2013

If the final effect is somewhat less nuanced than his previous work, it's a good deal more vigorous. Read full review

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User Reviews

katezoe

Apr 17, 2014

Must see film. After seeing it a week ago streaming on NetFlix I am still haunted by it. The director pulled the four stories that make up the film from the headlines of Chinese newspapers.

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reellm

Dec 16, 2014

4/5★ There is an undercurrent of something shifting in China as the country moves forward into a sometimes fighting future. Four very different tales of people experiencing and reacting to the vast changes happening around them, to them and with little control over any of it.
The violence4/5★ There is an undercurrent of something shifting in China as the country moves forward into a sometimes fighting future. Four very different tales of people experiencing and reacting to the vast changes happening around them, to them and with little control over any of it.
The violence is shocking and graphic, with little to soften the blow. Zhang Ke Jia is making a statement and he isn't sugarcoating it.
Verdict: Watch.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

Nov 9, 2017

I admit that it's very possible that many won't find its social criticism acceptable considering the level of brutality and violence that exposes but they must value the film for its quality, which is huge and they must also recognize that sometimes in order to be heard, something like thisI admit that it's very possible that many won't find its social criticism acceptable considering the level of brutality and violence that exposes but they must value the film for its quality, which is huge and they must also recognize that sometimes in order to be heard, something like this it's necessary.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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