A Touch of Sin 天注定 (2013): Why You Should Watch This Banned Chinese-Language (Mandarin) Film

In 2013, a Chinese-language film shocked the world at the Cannes Film Festival.

It won the festival's Best Screenplay award. It received five Golden Horse nominations, including Best Feature Film and Best Director. International critics called it "Jia Zhangke's best work."

But it was never released in mainland Chinese theaters.

You could watch it in France. You could watch it in Japan. You could even watch it in Taiwan. But you could not watch it on the big screen in mainland China. That film is A Touch of Sin.

Today, I want to talk about this film — and why it remains a hidden gem to this day.

Part One: A Film That Doesn't "Exist"

A Touch of Sin is composed of four stories. They are independent yet connected, spanning across China — Shanxi, Chongqing, Hubei, Guangdong.

These four stories are not fiction. They are all based on real social events that shocked the nation in the early decades of the 21st century: the Hu Wenhai incident in Shanxi, the Zhou Kehua case in Chongqing, the Deng Yujiao incident in Hubei, and the Foxconn suicide cluster in Shenzhen.

Jia Zhangke brought these true events to the screen. With his signature cold, observational lens, he documented four ordinary people pushed to their breaking points.

The film screened at Cannes in 2013. According to regulations, Chinese films must pass censorship to be eligible for international festivals. Jia brought A Touch of Sin to Cannes — meaning it had at least technically received a distribution license.

But in the end, it was never released in mainland China.

According to media reports, the film contained "violence, eroticism" and "sensitive social metaphors." Jia himself once said: "If I had to cut it, this film would cease to exist."

Ultimately, it became a film that "doesn't exist." No official release date. No posters. As if it never appeared at all.

Part Two: Four Stories of People Pushed to the Edge

The English title, A Touch of Sin, pays homage to King Hu's martial arts classic A Touch of Zen. Jia Zhangke intentionally crafted these four stories of marginalized rebels as a "contemporary martial arts film."

Story One: Dahai (Jiang Wu) — The Rage of Shanxi

Dahai is an ordinary villager in Wujinshan, Shanxi. The village's coal mines have been seized by the village head and a wealthy businessman. The villagers receive no profits and struggle to survive. Dahai repeatedly files complaints — only to be mocked and beaten.

After being humiliated one final time, Dahai picks up a hunting rifle. He kills the accountant, the village head, and then the businessman. Staring into the camera, he says: "If they want violence, I'll give them violence."

This segment is based on the 2001 Hu Wenhai incident — a villager who killed 14 people after his corruption complaints were ignored.

Story Two: San'er (Wang Baoqiang) — The Wandering Ghost of Chongqing

San'er is a cold-blooded killer who returns home for his mother's birthday. But his family is completely estranged from him. When his wife asks why he can't settle down, he replies: "It's boring."

"What do you mean, boring?" "The sound of the gun — that's when it's interesting."

After the New Year, he leaves again. On the bus, a screen plays Johnnie To's Exiled — another homage to the "wandering knight" genre.

This segment is based on the 2012 Zhou Kehua case — a gunman who killed 11 people across three provinces.

Story Three: Xiaoyu (Zhao Tao) — The "Martial Lady" of Hubei

Xiaoyu works at a sauna in Hubei. She is the mistress of a wealthy man. After his wife confronts her, she loses everything. One night, two drunken men force their way into the sauna, verbally and physically assaulting her.

Xiaoyu does not cry or beg. She pulls a knife from her bag and kills one of them — like a martial heroine. Afterward, she walks away alone.

This segment is based on the 2009 Deng Yujiao incident. A 21-year-old hostess, harassed by local officials, killed one with a knife. To many, she became a folk heroine.

Story Four: Xiaohui (Luo Lanshan) — The Fall in Dongguan

Xiaohui works in a factory. After accidentally injuring a coworker, he cannot afford compensation and runs away. He finds work at a nightclub in Dongguan and falls in love with an escort — only to discover she has a three-year-old child.

Desperate, he takes a job at a Foxconn factory through a friend.

At Foxconn, he sees no future. His mother constantly pressures him for money. An angry coworker tracks him down seeking revenge. In the end, he climbs onto the balcony of his dormitory.

He jumps.

This segment is based on the 2010 Foxconn suicide cluster — a series of 14 worker suicides that shocked the nation.

Part Three: Why This Film Still Matters

You might ask: why talk about a film that cannot be seen in mainland China?

1. It Is Jia Zhangke's Sharpest Work

Jia's earlier films — Xiao Wu, Platform, Still Life — are quiet observations of ordinary people navigating a changing China. A Touch of Sin is different. It introduces violence as a narrative core, allowing the oppressed to fight back with their own hands.

It is no longer observation. It is indictment.

2. It Is a Contemporary Martial Arts Film

Jia intentionally framed these four stories as a modern-day Outlaws of the Marsh. He said in an interview: "As long as the mountains and rivers remain, chivalry remains."

Watch the cold precision of San'er's killings. Watch Xiaoyu's resolve as she draws her knife. Jia is telling us: when justice fails, some will take the law into their own hands.

3. Its Existence Alone Is Meaningful

A Touch of Sin never screened in mainland China. But it has not disappeared.

At the Golden Horse Awards, it received standing ovations. On Douban, over 180,000 users have rated it. Its score is 8.3. In countless film critics' essays, it is called "Jia Zhangke's masterpiece."

It reminds us that some voices, even when suppressed, never disappear.

Final Thoughts

The film ends with a line from the Shanxi opera Jade Hall Spring, sung on stage: "Do you know your crime? Do you know your crime?"

In the audience, Xiaoyu weeps. Does she know her crime? Does Dahai? Does San'er? Does Xiaohui?

Jia Zhangke offers no answers. He leaves the question to the audience.

A Touch of Sin is not a comfortable film. It is violent. Cold. Filled with despair. But it is a film worth watching.

It shows us that behind grand historical narratives, there are forgotten corners — and forgotten people.

It is a film that "doesn't exist." But it has never been forgotten.

Tom De · The Movie Prince 🎬