In the year 2001, China successfully joins the WTO, and also acquires the role of hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics. But while China successfully enters the international scene, factory workers who have lost their jobs set explosives in their workplace. To 19-year-old Xiao Ji and Bin Bin, the world news had no significance as they have lost their goal in life. The popular song for the New New Generation, ‘Unknown Pleasures,’ quoted from Zhangzi’s writings, represents freedom from oppression. Qiao Qiao dreams of success as she works as a PR helper. But the reality that awaits her is prostitution. Meanwhile, Xiao Ji yearns for love, but is forced to deal with death threats instead. The third film by Jia Zhangke, Unknown Pleasures seems to unravel like a sequel to Xiao Wu’s portrait of China’s New Generation, but this film takes a more lively approach to its subject matter. The director skillfully discloses the lives of those caught in an inescapable labyrinth that seems to define China’s contemporary social design. Perhaps the most extraordinary work of Jia Zhangke to date. (Michelle Sohn)