Synopsis
Set in China's underworld, this tale of love and betrayal follows a dancer who fired a gun to protect her mobster boyfriend during a fight. On release from prison 5 years later, she sets out to find him.
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Cast
- Zhao TaoZhao Qiao
- Liao FanGuo Bin
- Diao Yi'nanLin Jiadong
- Ding JialiWoman on Boat
- Dong ZijianPoliceman in Fengjie
- Xu ZhengMan from Karamay
- Zhang YibaiFirst Man in Fengjie Restaurant
- Zhang YiSecond Man in Fengjie Restaurant
- Feng Xiaogang
- Jiamei Feng
- 100
The Film Stage
Ash is Purest White is a tremendous, funny, heartbreaking, sprawling vehicle for Zhao, and what a gift it is to see her exploring the furthest reaches of those talents. - 90
The Hollywood Reporter
The performances of the two leads are riveting. - 83
The A.V. Club
It’s a surprisingly funny, even loopy film at times, with bursts of slapstick and screwball humor, plus a sporadic absurdism. - 80
The Guardian
What does the ending of Ash Is Purest White mean — and what does its middle or beginning mean? I’m not sure. It feels like a gripping parable for the vanity of human wishes, and another impassioned portrait of national malaise. - 80
Variety
The work has its intellectually ponderous moments but is ultimately saved by Jia’s muse and wife, Zhao Tao, who surpasses herself in a role of mesmerizing complexity. - 70
New York Magazine (Vulture)
By the end, the transformation of China is more compelling than Qiao’s love for Bin, but watching both unfold over time is continually thought-provoking, given the ephemerality of whole cities, much less love affairs. - 70
Screen Daily
The meandering narrative sprawls like a great Dickens novel but individual encounters and elements that may seem like distractions all reflect back on the greater themes. - 70
Vanity Fair
I love the way Jia grapples with large social shifts in such metaphorical and yet still intimate ways, peering in on individual people caught in the churn of time and growth and framing them in the defining context of their surroundings.