Caught by the Tides

In 2001, in the northern Chinese city of Datong, a working-class woman named Qiao Qiao has a romantic relationship with her manager Guao Bin as she hustles to make a living as a singer, model, and club girl.^[2] Bin leaves Datong to try to earn a living in another province, sending Qiao Qiao a text message that says he will bring her when he has money.^[2][4] After a stretch, Qiao Qiao decides to go looking for him,^[5] passing through communities that are being displaced by the Three Gorges Dam,^[2] as well as through Guangdong Province.^[3] Meanwhile, Bin tries his hand at a number of businesses, including entering a shady deal with a corrupt politician.^[4] When Qiao Qiao finally finds Bin, she breaks up with him. They eventually re-unite in COVID-era China, after both have noticeably aged.^[6][4]

• Zhao Tao as Qiao Qiao
• Li Zhubin as Bin
• Pan Jianlin
• Lan Zhou
• Zhou You
• Xu Changchu

Jia first alluded to the film in a 2016 interview by stating, "During 1999 and 2000 was the time I had my first DV camera, so I would usually, aimlessly go about shooting footage. This is a habit I still maintain up to this day, and I have a lot of raw footage using different types of cameras and captures throughout the years. I might have a future plan of editing this footage and making it into a film."^[7]

The decision to use previous footage was sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which made filming in China difficult. As Jia was revisiting two decades of footage, some of which was shot as experimentation with different techniques rather than to capture specific scenes, he realized he could potentially re-use the footage as material for a new film.^[8]

Caught by the Tides is assembled from 22 years of footage, including many of Jia's previous characters and locations.^[9] As a result the actors naturally age,^[10] including the lead character, Qiao Qiao, who is played by Jia's real life wife, actress Zhao Tao.^[9] Part of the film takes place in Fengjie, the same setting as Jia's Golden Lion-winning film Still Life (2006), which also starred Zhao Tao.^[6]

Footage and outtakes from Unknown Pleasures, Still Life, and Ash Is Purest White were used in Caught by the Tides.^[11] Approximately 10 scenes from the film have appeared in Jia's previous films.^[12] Kodak Vision 2 and 3 film stock were used with Sony DSR-PD150, Sony Betacam, Sony HDV, Arricam LT 35mm, and Arri Alexa 35 cameras for the film.^[13] The final section, set in contemporary China, was shot during the pandemic.^[8] Editing was done using Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve was used for colour correction.^[13]

Caught by the Tides was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 18 May 2024.^[14] The film played at the Toronto International Film Festival on 5 September 2024.^[15] It was also selected in Gala Presentation at the 29th Busan International Film Festival and screened on 5 October 2024.^[16]

The film was theatrically released in China on 22 November 2024.^[17]

For home video, the film is set to be released on Blu-ray and DVD by The Criterion Collection in 2026, as part of its Criterion Premieres line of discs.^[18]