I have watched almost every movie made by the director Zhangke Jia(贾樟 柯), and I believe this one is among one of his best(IMHO his best is 'Still Life(三峡好人)'). The characters in this movie are all lower class people, probably the lowest class of modern Chinese society.
Amazingly, director figured out a way to express their feelings, alone and abandoned, desires, etc. Unfortunately, in order to get the movie focused on characters, Jia Zhangke got rid of probably all the dark sides of society. That is to say, get the tragedy limited to the characters themselves as much as possible. Anyway, Zhangke Jia's movies are always not supposed to criticize but to express.
Zhangke Jia's style is a mixture of realism, fantasy and expressionism, so if couldn't catch up with his film the first time, I strongly suggest you to watch it again, his films are worthy of several hours of your time. Years later, his films could be a lot more valuable, since he is the only director still focusing on the bottom of the society in china nowadays.
Amazingly, director figured out a way to express their feelings, alone and abandoned, desires, etc. Unfortunately, in order to get the movie focused on characters, Jia Zhangke got rid of probably all the dark sides of society. That is to say, get the tragedy limited to the characters themselves as much as possible. Anyway, Zhangke Jia's movies are always not supposed to criticize but to express.
Zhangke Jia's style is a mixture of realism, fantasy and expressionism, so if couldn't catch up with his film the first time, I strongly suggest you to watch it again, his films are worthy of several hours of your time. Years later, his films could be a lot more valuable, since he is the only director still focusing on the bottom of the society in china nowadays.