Jia Zhang-ke

Released from jail, Lang returns to his hometown in Northwest China. As part of a dog patrol tasked with clearing stray dogs before the 2008 Olympics, he bonds with a black stray. The two lonely souls embark on a new journey together.

In an industrial city in China, a young dancer named Qiao falls in love with a mobster named Bin. When a fight breaks out between rival gangs, Qiao uses a gun to protect Bin and is sent to prison for five years. Opening in 2001 in Datong, a former coal mining town, Bin was a mob gangster of Jianghu and when the leader was dethroned he takes over. Qiao loves Bin very much and one day to save Bin from henchmen she uses his pistol and fires it fakely. She gets arrested and imprisoned for 5 years, never being visited by Bin. When she is released she reaches out to Bin who has no interest for Qiao and is in love with another girl. 16 years later she gets a call from Bin who is in need of moral support.

The life of Tao, and those close to her, is explored in three different time periods: 1999, 2014, and 2025.

The film shows falling apart of one of the economically forward nation by portraying four shocking and true events. An enraged miner, a nave receptionist, a lost migrant and factory worker become the lens for the unlawful happenings.