On this week’s episode of our podcast, you’ll hear a career-spanning conversation with Jia Zhangke from the 53rd New York Film Festival. The Chinese director’s latest, Mountains May Depart, opens here at the Film Society on Friday. Subscribe to The Close-Up on iTunes to hear fascinating discussions like this one every week and, if you like what you hear, leave us a review!

Mountains May Depart is an epic melodrama spanning three decades. As in much of Jia’s work, the film is a meditation on life in contemporary China, looking at both its recent past and not-too-distant future to examine how its people are coping with the country’s massive transformations. The film stars Jia’s wife and frequent collaborator, Zhao Tao, and, at one of our HBO Directors Dialogues during NYFF53, he discussed their working relationship as well as his use of pop music and his ongoing interest in the passage of time.

Listen below or click here to listen and subscribe on iTunes.