A Touch of Sin

A Touch of Sin is a fine and bloody film from 2013 that covers the spectrum of Chinese society. Directed by Jia Zhangke, it was a winner at the Cannes Film Festival (for screenplay) and has a kind of fatalistic view that is pretty bleak.

Told in four stories, the opening has a mysterious man on a motorcycle beset by three highwayman armed with hatchets. He pulls out a gun and shoots all three dead. We won't see him again for a while, as the first subject is a hapless villager (Jiang Wu) who is trying to reform the corruption of his town. He gets nowhere trying to enlist people to help. He openly accuses the village chief, who warns him. Then he goes to the city to welcome the head of the company that runs the place. He asks the man, fresh off his plane, if he will sponsor him to go to Beijing to file an accusation against this very same man. This earns him a beating with a shovel.

The segment ends in a rampage of violence that even to an American like me was shocking. Maybe in China you can't fight City Hall, but you can shoot your way in, which is a very American way of doing things.

The man on the motorcycle turns out to be a robber and cold-blooded killer. He has returned to his hometown for his mother's birthday. He sees his wife and son, but will not remain. Instead he robs and kills more people. The absolutely vacant look in his eyes is chilling.

The third segment is more complex. A young woman (Zhao Tao), the mistress of a married man, gives him an ultimatum--leave your wife or we're done. She goes to her job as a receptionist in a spa and his accosted by the man's wife. Later, she will be attacked by men who assume she is a prostitute, but she's handy with a knife.

The final segment concerns a young man who finds work at a fancy brothel as a waiter. He falls in love with one of the girls, but sees that it is pointless to attempt to go away with her. She tells him, "There is no true love in sex work."

Each of these stories were based on true events in China that took place in the past few years. Some of it is alien to me--the third segment had a significant use of snakes, and I'm not aware of their place in Chinese culture. But I was surprised by the violence, and the lack of showing justice--there are no visible repercussions for the first two men. This is something the Hollywood code would have not permitted many years ago, so China seems to have caught up.

A Touch of Sin is a gripping, well-made film. As it proceeds you have no idea where it's going, and each tale is full of pathos and rage. I highly recommend it.