Originally posted by arsaib4
[B]

Interesting comment Howard, and this was perhaps one thing I was afraid of. I'm sure you didn't want to give too much away by going in detail but this is something I plan to watch closely to see if infact there's a compromise in his vision. As you mentioned this is the first 'above-ground' or state supported film from Jia (the crown-jewel among sixth generation) and hopefully unlike some of the fifth-generation filmmakers he'll continue to comment on the modern day realities in China. He's a bit of a radical just like Tian Zhuangzhuang (who was banned after The Blue Kite and just returned) but I think Jia is much more humorous and that nagging kind of humor can be seen throughout his first 3 films.
This is something you will have to judge for yourself. It was just an impression I had after a sequence I thought was false and contrived, something I never saw in his earlier films. Perhaps I judged it too harshly.