Unknown Pleasures is a 2002 Chinese film directed by Jia Zhangke. The film focuses on several young people, members of China's "new" generation. Nineteen year old Bin Bin lives with his mother , in a small apartment near Datong's textile mill. His close friend, the reckless Xiao Ji, lives in a small apartment with his father. Both of them face considerable problems in their love-life. Bin Bin's girlfriend is an ambitious student planning on studying business at a university. He, on the other hand does nothing apart from watching television on most days. Two friends eventually meet Qiao Qiao , a young singer and dancer working for the Mongolian King Liquor company. Xiao ji sets his sights on Qiao Qiao . She is outwardly tough and determined . However she eventually turns to prostitution . When an explosion rocks textile mill, the characters are briefly pushed into action.
The two boys are only interested in movies (such as Pulp Fiction) , pop music and girls. Both the boys are aimless ,young people with no future. The overlapping stories of the two friends develop a common theme of loneliness and yearning on the edges of a rapidly changing society. From China joining the World Trade Organization to Beijing getting selected to host the 2008 Olympic Games , the most important events in "Unknown Pleasures" take place on tv, each one a new promise that meaningful change will soon follow. But future of the protagonists is cloudy and uncertain. It is an infinitely sad, unpredictable but ultimately very meaningful film.
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