PICKPOCKET
Title: PICKPOCKET
Original title: XIAO WU
Section: Tribute Programme
Director: Jia Zhang-Ke
Cast list: Wang HongWei, Hao Hong Jian, Zuo Baitao, Ma Jinrei, Liu Junying
Credits:
screenplay: Jia Zhang-Ke; director of photography: Nelson Yu Lik-wai; editor: Xiao Ling Yu; sound: Yang Zhang; producer: Jia Zhang-Ke, Kit Ming Li; production: Radiant Film, Hu Tong Communications;
Country: China, Hong Kong
Year: 1997
Running time: 108
Colour: Colour
Format: 35 mm
Jia Zhang-ke's first feature is about a resigned, unambitious young man in a provincial town. The director uses several cinematic styles to highlight various aspects of his personality. The film, like Xiao Wu himself, moves in the direction of stripping down to essentials. When he stupidly commits a crime, we become complicit in his public humiliation. PICKPOCKET was shot on 16mm for a measly $50,000. (H. F.)


















