Set over a 17-year period beginning in 2001, this epic romantic tragedy from Jia Zhangke (Still Life, A Touch of Sin) unfolds with unparalleled precision and disarming pathos. In a career-high performance, frequent Jia collaborator Zhao Tao stars as the fiercely loyal girlfriend of a local gangster played by Liao Fan. Enduring a prison sentence on his behalf, she emerges to find a changed China. Gorgeously lensed on a mix of era-appropriate cameras by French DP Eric Gautier (Irma Vep), Ash finds staggering beauty in an increasingly brutal world.

In Mandarin with English subtitles.