(Jia Zhangke, 2002, China, 112 minutes)

Jia Zhangke’s third film as director and second with his favorite star (and now wife) Zhao Tao, Unknown Pleasures was Jia’s final youth film made without state approval before moving more into the system with 2004’s The World (screening at the Webster Film Series on May 27). Shot on raw SD, Unknown Pleasures follows a teenage couple of the birth control generation who are seeking to die young, and to make the most of their time until they do.

In Mandarin and Jin with English subtitles.