Following two ordinary police officers on their bicycle patrols through a working-class neighborhood in Beijing, Ning Ying crafts a chronicle in which the absurdity of everyday life reveals the contradictions of a changing society. Filmed in 1995, On the Beat occupies a unique place between the Fifth Generation and the independent filmmakers who would give rise to the Sixth: without breaking with the official production system, the filmmaker invents a form of realism attuned to the everyday exercise of power, the vestiges of Maoist structures, and urban transformations. By shifting the center of gravity of Chinese cinema toward the contemporary city, the course of history becomes visible at eye level. Jérôme Baron
French premiere · Restored print
TUE 24 > 2:00 PM
FRI 27 > 5:00 PM
