The World

Three people wearing elegant white dresses stand on a stage with falling snow, while two hold parasols. The central figure is dressed in a detailed bridal gown, creating a dramatic winter-themed scene.

An at once intimate and expansive exploration of globalization from visionary director Jia Zhangke, The World takes place in the eponymous theme park on the outskirts of Beijing, where iconic monuments from the Eiffel Tower to the Taj Mahal are reproduced for tourists. It’s there that the park’s employees — including a dancer (Zhao Tao) and a security guard (Cheng Taishen) — drift together and are pulled apart in a cycle of connection and alienation that speaks eloquently to the effects of China’s rapid modernization.

The film will be introduced by Shaoling Ma, Associate Professor in the Department of Asian Studies at Cornell University and a Faculty Fellow with the Society for the Humanities.

Free admission! Sponsored by the Society for the Humanities as part of our "Scale on Screen" film series.

Part of our "Scale on Screen" series. Courtesy of Janus Films.