X
  • 2020
  • Kino Lorber
  • 1 h 56 m
  • 2020
  • Kino Lorber
  • 1 h 56 m
I Wish I Knew

Summary Shanghai's past and present flow together in Jia Zhangke's poetic and poignant portrait of this fast-changing port city. Restoring censored images and filling in forgotten facts, Jia provides an alternative version of 20th century China's fraught history as reflected through life in the Yangtze city.He builds his narrative through a seri...

Directed By: Zhangke Jia

Written By: Zhangke Jia

  • 2020
  • Kino Lorber
  • 1 h 56 m
  • 2020
  • Kino Lorber
  • 1 h 56 m

I Wish I Knew

Metascore Universal Acclaim Based on 7 Critic Reviews
83
User Score Generally Favorable Based on 6 User Ratings
6.2
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary Shanghai's past and present flow together in Jia Zhangke's poetic and poignant portrait of this fast-changing port city. Restoring censored images and filling in forgotten facts, Jia provides an alternative version of 20th century China's fraught history as reflected through life in the Yangtze city.He builds his narrative through a seri...

Directed By: Zhangke Jia

Written By: Zhangke Jia

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 7 Critic Reviews
83
100% Positive
7 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 7 Critic Reviews
83
100% Positive
7 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Jan 23, 2020
The pacing is steady. The stories are told simply, with zero affectation or buildup by the director. The effect is astonishing.
FULL REVIEW
90
Feb 13, 2020
What ensues amidst Jia’s indelible, gliding visuals of modern Shanghai are ruminative testimonials from the breadth of an older citizenry — former soldiers, descendants of gangsters and politicians, and (lots of) artists who endured the city’s turbulent evolution, and who in their stories of family, love and survival form a tapestry of memory and wisdom.
By Robert Abele FULL REVIEW
90
Jan 23, 2020
In effect, with I Wish I Knew, Jia is building not just a portrait of a city, but of a fragmented people — one story and memory at a time. He is finding meaning in collective remembrance and revealing a world, to borrow a phrase from Walter Benjamin, “under the gaze of the melancholy man.”
By Manohla Dargis FULL REVIEW
83
Jan 22, 2020
Even in shortened form, I Wish I Knew can at times feel overly discursive. But its implications, particularly regarding the Cultural Revolution, are difficult to miss.
By Lawrence Garcia FULL REVIEW
75
Jan 24, 2020
Even without access to all that it references, I Wish I Knew functions as an admirable cinematic tone poem about a place and its times.
By Glenn Kenny FULL REVIEW
70
Jan 23, 2020
Wondrous yet rueful views of the city, with its blend of grandeur and squalor, are anchored by the wanderings of an actress, Zhao Tao, whose mysterious role is clarified by one of the most anguished of testimonies.
By Richard Brody FULL REVIEW
67
Jan 23, 2020
The film is about the way we remember, from individuals looking back on the stories of life that their grandparents told them to the camera itself acting reflective of a time that’s destined to be finite.
FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 6 User Ratings
6.2
50% Positive
3 Ratings
33% Mixed
2 Ratings
17% Negative
1 Rating

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 6 User Ratings
6.2
50% Positive
3 Ratings
33% Mixed
2 Ratings
17% Negative
1 Rating

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Bojie Media, NCU Group, Shanghai Film Group, Xingyi Shijie, Xstream Films, Yiming International Media Productions
Release Date Jan 24, 2020
Duration 1 h 56 m
Genres
View All Details

Awards

Dubai International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Hawaii International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
To Ten Chinese Films Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

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