A Touch of Sin

Jia Zhangke takes on the collateral damage of China’s maniacal growth. Four violent deeds are ripped from the headlines and explosively restaged to illustrate everyday citizens pushed to the edge . . . of the economy. Taking cues from wuxia legend King Hu, A Touch of Sin links the lore of martial arts to base survival in contemporary China. Stunning in their visual charge, the four overlapping stories follow de facto warriors, disenfranchised by elusive progress, as they attempt to savagely salvage their lives. But unlike his cast of aggressive actors, the politically direct Jia doesn’t pull his punches.