A Touch of Sin (2013, Zhangke Jia) ****/****

On Thursday September 12, 2013, I attended the Toronto Film Festival.  The first of three films I took in that day was Zhangke Jia's mesmerizing "A Touch of Sin".  I had previously seen only one film by the Chinese master director, that being 2000's "Platform."  I was intrigued by that film and wanted to experience more of the auteur's work.  I wasn't disappointed.
   "A Touch of Sin" consists of four separate stories of characters that are linked by the common thread of violence perpetrated on other's and one's self.  The violence in "A Touch of Sin" is often gruesome but highly stylized.  Right from the beginning we are struck with it when a lone motorcyclist is surrounded by a group of bandits demanding his money.  The man on the motorcycle reaches into his jacket and brings out a gun with which he promptly mows down the thieves in quick succession.  From this point on we are made aware that this will be no light film and a possibly extraordinary film as well. We will join this character (Wang Baoqiang) and his story of violence and sin later on in the film but first we are introduced to Dahai (Jiang Wu) a worker who seeks vengeance for an embezzlement scheme which leaves him feeling cheated.  Another story depicts a young woman (Zhao Tao) who is searching for herself and her own contentment but ends up with a dissatisfying job in a massage parlour.    Finally we are brought into the life a young man (Luo Lanshan) who ends up working in a quasi-bordello where he falls in love with one of the flesh-trade workers.   The details of the stories are difficult to iterate but what really matters is the way that these characters deal with their individual crises.
   The picture painted of modern day China is bleak and has a lot to say about the supposed economic boom of that country and the exploitation of China's underclass and underprivileged.  All four stories are unique and compelling and the director does an expert job of juxtaposing the stories in a way that highlights the common themes that run through each.   There are moments that will make you laugh, smile, wince and perhaps drop your jaw.  This is a difficult film to look at sometimes but Jia makes it beautiful at the same time in his lyrical, breath-taking manner.