Caught by the Tides: The Beauty in Time Passing

Caught by the Tides is a treasure in form, performance, and structure.

Caught by the Tides follows a woman and a man before and after the ending of their relationship, and how the world changes around them. This seems simple enough, but it takes a more experimental and fulfilling approach due to at least two-thirds of the film consisting of b-roll from Jia Zhangke’s prior works. The visuals are fantastic, and through Jia Zhangke's camera, the world feels grand and vast beyond explanation. Caught by the Tides is a treasure in form, performance, and structure. Zhao Tao’s performance is incredible and possibly the best of the year. It’s a triumph and perhaps my current favorite movie of the year. I have to watch it again to be sure.

One of my favorite aspects of Jia Zhangke’s films has to be how curious his camera is. This isn’t about how well-shot things are or how he frames his leads. It is more specifically about an oft-featured but cut-away tendency to look to the fringes of an area. In Still Life and Unknown Pleasures, the camera gets distracted. It’s focused on the leads, but sometimes after they exit the frame, it turns to who else fills the screen. A man walking in the opposite direction, a couple interacting, a man singing opera loudly on the street. These moments aren’t necessarily needed for the central plots of either film, but they contribute to the atmosphere and world-building. Caught by the Tides feels like an indulgence in this tendency among many other things.

I’ve been intrigued by the concept of this film for months. I liked the idea of a film incorporating old footage, and it’s been very highly rated by people I respect. I was not expecting it to feel like this. Zhangke points his camera everywhere: the walls, the buildings he’s shot in, computers, ruins, everything. For every place the experimental narrative takes us, the camera finds another thing to focus on. It’s so full of life because it captures so much of it. It’s not bound by too much structure, even though it still has structure. Anything could happen onscreen, which was part of the thrill for me.

I especially loved its focus on lesser-seen characters from those earlier films. Seeing another take or side of some of these people is interesting. Some characters present entirely differently than I remember from their previous entries in Zhangke’s filmography. There’s a specific subplot, if you can even call it one, with the few scenes everyone gets here that was so intriguing and surprising to me. What compels me more than that is that in everything I’ve read about this film—and I’ve read a LOT—nobody has even thought to mention it. It’s not something I’d fault them for or think they’re actively ignoring. There’s so much going on within this film, it’s incredible. So hard to grasp. I’ve written an entire three paragraphs gushing over structure alone! I haven’t even gotten into Zhao Tao yet!

Zhao Tao was always a draw for me when it came to Zhangke. I knew she led this film when I first heard about it, and I always love to follow along with director/muse pairings. She was a delight to me in the first few Jia Zhangke films I saw her in. Tao’s not a massive part of these movies, often operating as a supporting or shared lead with other characters. I enjoyed her storylines nonetheless, and I appreciate those movies for the stories they tell. Although I had a rough time with them upon my first viewings, I feel I’ll understand them over time. However, it seems that Zhangke has heard my prayers and hopes for her roles in these films. I’ve always needed more of her! Ash is Purest White is(or was, I’m unsure at this point) my favorite of Zhangke’s work because it put her character at the center, but even then, that narrative was so focused on Bin. It works for that story, but I appreciate what happens here.

One thing I’ve heard about this film is how Tao does not say a word in it. It made me more and more apprehensive to watch it because I love it whenever she speaks. Over time, I grew to love the choice. There’s so much more calculation and thought going into all her actions in this film. Without dialogue, her face and physicality are brought to the forefront, and it should succeed the way it does. I can feel three scenes of her face in this film orbiting my mind constantly. She displays such kindness and despair. Such resolute anger. I almost prefer it to Ash is Purest White because her character feels free to move on from her actions. She moves forward along with time because she has to. There is nothing to say. What would her words change?

This is one of the most stunning things I’ve ever seen. Initially, the shots are very intimate and expansive. The editing can jump through several different camera types and filming periods. I find one thing notable and enjoyable that I haven’t seen mentioned before. While claims and surefire assurances that this film indulges in some nostalgia for how joyfully it starts and how wistfully it ends are valid, I feel there’s something else there. I find it interesting how many early shots are static or very controlled in how they are depicted. They usually show some joyful moment, but they’re still very grounded. The 2021 section should feel like doom and gloom. In some respects, it is. But there’s such an intentional capturing of beauty and verve within it all. The shots become even more unorthodox. A dance hall is framed top down like a painting, an online video filmed with the pizzazz of a musical, a grocery store visit dynamically introduced by a shot that still makes no sense to me. The mundanity of life and the loss of the past may give way to the end of old pastimes. But life is still there.

I initially thought I should edit this down more or split it into another review for later. In the film's spirit, I've tried to keep everything from the editing floor preserved here. A film rarely prompts this out of me, and I find it rare to explain why. Thanks again to everyone who I saw love this or write about it.

I hope you go see this movie if you can, and like this review. I'm sure it's hard to fully understand without seeing it. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars for now. Who knows what’ll happen when I rewatch it? Thanks for reading!