70
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The Hollywood ReporterClarence TsuiThe Hollywood ReporterClarence TsuiMore than just mining the past, Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang is fuelled by an anxious look toward the future - not just Jia's, but also that of his profession and his people as China marches on to the state-controlled drumbeat of economic liberalism and tight political control.
- 80The New York TimesGlenn KennyThe New York TimesGlenn KennyThe movie’s most moving sequence is near the end, when Mr. Jia discusses his father, who faced awful hardships during the Cultural Revolution.
- 75Slant MagazineCarson LundSlant MagazineCarson LundWalter Salles reinforces the impression of Jia's own art as emerging fluidly from the vagaries of his own life and socioeconomic position.
- 70Village VoiceCalum MarshVillage VoiceCalum MarshThis is portraiture for the Zhangke-acquainted. Admirers will find much of interest here, as Salles, scrupulously self-effacing, affords Jia the latitude to think and talk at his leisure — to speak at length, and candidly, about his work and what informs it.
- 58The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe problem with art like Jia’s is that a straightforward approach isn’t going to reveal anything that isn’t already there in the work or document anything that the movies don’t already document themselves. And why settle for second-hand when you can just go and watch the real thing?
- 50RogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireRogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireWhile Salles’ portrait gives a very incomplete account of the man and his art, it pays tribute to a filmmaker who remains among the medium’s foremost and most fascinating creators.