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A fake Eiffel Tower. Real heartbreak. Welcome to China's saddest theme park.
TMDB
70
Rotten Tomatoes
74
Audience Score
66
Watch(US)

The World (2004)

melancholicsurrealintimate

Overview

Drama

At Beijing World Park, a bizarre cross-pollination of Las Vegas and Epcot Center where visitors can interact with famous international monuments without ever leaving the city’s suburbs, a security guard betrays his dancer girlfriend by pursuing another woman.

Flag of CNCNChinese
Content warning

Standout Aspects

Direction

Jia Zhangke's patient, documentarian eye finds poetry in mundanity.

Cinematography

Artificial monuments dwarf real people — devastating visual metaphor.

Acting

Zhao Tao's restrained devastation will wreck you.

Best for:Solo: Late night when you want to feel something quietly devastating.·Streaming: Requires patience; pause-friendly for the long runtime.
Heads up:Emotional: Relentless emotional bleakness; not a single cathartic release.·Sexual Content: Brief transactional encounters, handled with grim matter-of-factness.
Jia Zhangke

Director

Jia Zhangke

ReleasedSep 1, 2004
Runtime2h 20m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Paceslow
Intensitylow
Tonedark
Feelheavy
TV Asahi
dentsu

Top Cast

Zhao Tao

Zhao Tao

Tao

Cheng Taishen

Cheng Taishen

Taisheng

Jiang Zhongwei

Jiang Zhongwei

Niu

Wang Hongwei

Wang Hongwei

Sanlai

Liang Jingdong

Liang Jingdong

Tao's Ex-boyfriend

Shuai Ji

Shuai Ji

Erxiao

Han Sanming

Han Sanming

Sanming

Wang Xiaoshuai

Wang Xiaoshuai

Ask about The World

Opens AI chat

Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

Jia shot illegally without official permits, smuggling footage past authorities. The World Park itself later closed and fell into disrepair.

Cultural

This was Jia's first state-approved film after years of underground work — a bitter irony given its critique of state-sanctioned spectacle.

YouTube

The World (世界, 2004) de Jia Zhangke

The World (世界, 2004) de Jia Zhangke

Gallery(20 images)

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