Xiao Wu (Pickpocket) is a 1997 Chinese film directed by Jia Zhangke. The film was the directorial debut of Jia Zhangke, one of the important figures of the Sixth Generation of Chinese cinema and stars Wang Hongwei in the title role.
Xiao Wu is a young man in a small town in China. Xiao Wu is one of the member of a group of pickpockets. Most of his friends have moved on in their lives. A friend of him is getting married and decides not to invite him . Later Xiao Wu develops an affair with a prostitute. The woman drops him when she gets better client. He becomes increasingly alienated and lonely as he loses his girlfriend. A sense develops that the world is moving on and he is being left behind. This film actually portrays the young man's insecurity, frustration and alienation.
Wang Hongwei is perfect in the title role. He makes it easy to relate to the character's loneliness and hankering. The raw way of the photography gives us an honest picture of a specific time in China's history. On the flip side, the film is too slow at times. However this film is successful on analysing the psychology of a self-absorbed individual.
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