Are the censors really satisfied?

Screenshot Film Press Plus :: Vimeo

Jia Zhangke's 'A Touch of Sin (天注定 Tian zhu ding)' at the International Film Festival in Cannes

The film-maker presented his new work to a seemingly enthusiastic audience, and chances are that he will win one of the much sought-after trophies.

Renowned for his semi-documentary style, his new film 'A Touch of Sin (天注定 Tian zhu ding)' is (if you follow the rather raving reviews by national / international media) an acerbic attack on everything and everybody that is evil in contemporary China - corrupt local ganbu, ecological and human disasters, corruption at different levels of the party and / or state bureaucracy, and an ever-expanding entertainment industry that caters to the newly-rich and hopelessly spoiled as well as to the new / old underdogs.

The prototypical underdogs are the millions and millions of migrant workers who were and still are leaving rural backwaters and forgotten villages in search of the promised lands in the East and South.

Film aficionados might remember Jia Zhangke (贾樟柯) from the 1990s, when he was still a fresh face on the scene and a welcome guest at independent film festivals and in underground circles around the world.

According to the international press corps at Cannes, the film-maker repeatedly stated that he was not required to alter or cut any scenes from the material. And his production company plans to circulate copies widely in the PR China.

Ultimately, it remains to be seen if the new Chinese leadership under president Xi Jinping and premier Li Keqiang is as willing to fight endemic corruption as their predecessors Hu and Wen who had worked hard, sometimes at least, to eradicate one of the enduring evils in Chinese society.

If you are not too afraid of a little blood splatter (Tarantino-like) here and there, look out for 'A Touch of Sin' in your local cinema.