A Touch of Sin

Director: Jia Zhang-Ke
Year Released: 2013
Rating: 2.0

Four stories are strung together by Jia about oppressive conditions in China leading three of his characters to explode with violence ... and one to explode when he jumps off his apartment deck. While section one just seems like a Chinese version of Falling Down - a miner who 'just can't take it any more' (he's mad as hell) goes after corruption with a shotgun - the final story is by far the most nuanced and involving, as a garment worker who inadvertently causes a workplace accident (hand sliced!) skips town and gets another gig working in the sex industry. That the young man in this piece sees no positive future for himself - and apparent remorse for past actions - and feels immediately compelled to End It is the most disquieting aspect to the entire production: the rest is watching hostile people behaving poorly.