I Wish I Knew

Synopsis

Eighteen people from Shanghai, Taipei and Hong Kong recall their lives in Shanghai. Their personal experiences, like 18 chapters of a novel, tell stories of Shanghai lives from the 1930s to 2010.

Director Jia Zhangke said, "I came to Shanghai with my movie camera and traced the footsteps of Shanghaiers who left this city for Taiwan and Hong Kong. Shanghai is closely tied to the lives of almost every important historic figure in the modern history of China. And events of national significance in the life of the city also destined Shanghaiers for lives of painful, life-long separation. When I sat face-to-face with characters in my film, and listened to them talk every so calmly about the hair raising events in their pasts, I suddenly realized what it was that I captured with my camera: a dream of freedom twinkling in their eyes."