Film Review: A Touch of Sin (天注定)

(2013); China; Director: Jia Zhangke; Runtime: 133 min.

A Touch of Sin is the critically acclaimed film by Jia Zhangke, which won Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival. Inspired by true events, the film examines seemingly random acts of violence throughout China.

Zhangke depicts the lives and varied circumstances of four individuals across modern day China, and how they eventually decide to commit acts of violence. Each ‘protagonist’ also represents different social-political conditions affecting citizens throughout China. Cleverly, Zhangke visually symbolizes each character with a different animal.

Dahai, the tiger, is a miner frustrated with the corruption that has plagued his town. A law graduate debilitated with diabetes, Dahai watches as the village chiefs use public resources and bribes to further their lives of luxury. He pleads with his fellow citizens to stop paying their leaders lip service in fear of punishment, but everyone would rather lay low and avoid notice. Like a tiger, Dahai’s harmed pride and loud disapproval (roar) go without acknowledgement, and he decides to finally resort to violence to get his point across.

San’er, the bull, seems to represent the conflict between traditional and modernized China. He wears a Chicago Bulls beanie as he makes the journey home for his mother’s 70th birthday. Long shots depicting rolling hills of rice fields are framed by industrial skyscrapers in the distance, further emphasizing this dichotomy. Bored with life, San’er seems to revel in the visceral appeal of violence, like a bull. Instead of fireworks, he is more interested in the burst of fire from his gun. Having little interest in human-interaction, he finds his purpose through random acts of violence, carried out in methodic precision.

Xiaoyu, the viper, is the singular female aggressor in the film. While she does represent labor inequality between the rich and poor, her position is more evidently anchored on gender inequality. She works as a receptionist in a bathhouse, while simultaneously dealing with her position as mistress for a married man. When two drunken patrons decide to force themselves upon her (the scene is set up much like intruders in a snake’s den), she finally resorts to violence in self-defense.

Xiaohui, the little bird, is a young man in need of purpose in life. He finds work in factories and nightclubs, but can never seem to find happiness. Like a bird, he feels confined by the lack of freedom these sweatshop-like environments constantly reinforce. Seeing no other route out of his depressing existence, he decides to end it on his own terms.