I Wish I Knew

Released Feb 14, 2020

2h 5m

Documentary

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100%

Tomatometer

16 Reviews

Shanghai's people and architecture, from the 1800s until today.

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Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

The resulting mix of image and interview, weariness and wonder, makes for a sober assessment of just how much change China's largest city has been through since the 1930s...

Feb 13, 2020

Full Review

Jonathan Romney

Film Comment Magazine

Ending a minor but fascinating film in Jia's provocative oeuvre, the images of these sleepers are a prelude to the other troubled dreams of China (A Touch of Sin, Mountains May Depart, Ash Is the Purest White) that he has made since.

Rated: A

Jan 24, 2020

Full Review

Glenn Kenny

RogerEbert.com

I Wish I Knew functions as an admirable cinematic tone poem about a place and its times.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 24, 2020

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

A city symphony in a minor key, reminiscent of Pennebaker and Ruttman, that searches for the soul of a people and finds a microcosm of a century of upheaval and uncertainty.

Rated: 3.5/4

Apr 27, 2020

Full Review

Dave Platt

Battleship Pretension

Jia has a gift for exposing the underside of words like 'development', 'progress' or 'revolution', abstract political or economic programs that manifest at the cost of people's physical and cultural displacement.

Feb 20, 2020

Full Review

Joshua Brunsting

The CriterionCast

Making its theatrical debut stateside a decade after bowing at the Cannes Film Festival, Jia Zhangke's documentary is a masterpiece worthy of (re)discovery.

Jan 31, 2020

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Zhang-Ke Jia

Director

Rebecca Pan

Actor

Tao Zhao

Actor

Dan-qing Chen

Actor

Han Han

Actor

Zhang-Ke Jia

Screenwriter

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Synopsis

Shanghai's people and architecture, from the 1800s until today.

Director: Zhang-Ke Jia
Screenwriter: Zhang-Ke Jia
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 14, 2020, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 30, 2020
Runtime: 2h 5m

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