CAUGHT BY THE TIDES (鿎恁一仿), a 2024 Chinese drama directed by Jia Zhangke, is about a journey that is both mysterious and beautiful. The movie is about Qiao Qiao (Zhao Tao)—a club singer and model from Datong and her relationship with Guo Bin—a man whose ambition takes him far from home. It takes place over two rough decades in modern China’s history. Qiao Qiao waits for Bin to come back for her once he’s made some money, but she doesn’t. Her choice to follow him takes her through the rapidly changing landscapes of China, from the industrial sprawl of Guangdong to communities that were uprooted by the Three Gorges Dam. But this isn’t like other love stories. The movie seems like a mix of fiction and real life because it was put together from footage shot over 22 years. It seems so real that it makes me wonder if Caught by the Tides is based on a true story.
THE TRUE STORY BEHIND CAUGHT BY THE TIDES
While Caught by the Tides is not based on a single true story, it is deeply rooted in real events, real places and real lives. It’s a fictionalized narrative built on documentary foundations. Jia Zhangke is a filmmaker known for chronicling the transformations of China through a lens that often feels more like a time capsule than a scripted film. In Caught by the Tides, he pushes that approach even further.
The lead character, Qiao Qiao, is portrayed by Zhao Tao—Jia’s real wife and long-time collaborator—who has played variations of this character in multiple films. What makes this performance unique is that Zhao Tao literally ages on screen. The footage spans 22 years, some of it dating back to the early 2000s, taken from Jia’s personal archives and previous films including Still Life, Unknown Pleasures, and Ash Is Purest White. Her aging isn’t simulated through makeup or effects; it’s real, documented year by year in scenes filmed over decades.
This unusual approach came into sharper focus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many artists isolated by lockdowns, Jia turned to his past work. In an earlier interview, he revealed that as far back as 1999, he was shooting personal footage with a DV camera, not for any specific project, but out of habit. These raw clips—taken during travel, experiments with style, or spontaneous moments—started to feel like fragments of a larger, untold story. That’s when the idea for Caught by the Tides was born.
DRAWING FROM CHINA’S CHANGING LANDSCAPE
Jia’s work has always been embedded in China’s social evolution. In Caught by the Tides, the backdrop is not merely scenery—it’s history. Qiao Qiao’s search for Bin takes her through areas transformed by the Three Gorges Dam, one of the largest infrastructure projects in the world, which displaced over a million people. Real footage of displaced communities waiting for ferries finds a place in the film, adding to its documentary feel.
Other parts of the film are set during key periods in modern Chinese history, such as the buildup to the 2008 Olympics, a symbol of China’s leap into global modernity. By using real footage of these events and locations, Jia captures not just personal loss and longing, but also the broader emotional landscape of a nation undergoing seismic change.
A FILM THAT FEELS REAL BECAUSE IT IS PARTLY REAL
Even though the characters in Caught by the Tides are made up, the story is based on real events and changes in society. For example, Guo Bin’s character tries his hand at a lot of different businesses before making a deal with a dishonest politician. These choices about what to say show problems that a lot of people had when China’s economy changed quickly in the early 2000s. Like Bin, a lot of young people left their hometowns to follow their dreams in bigger cities. Some people, like Qiao Qiao, were left behind to wonder what went on.
Using a mix of film formats (DV, 35mm, Betacam, and Arri Alexa) makes it seem even more real. What the film feels like changes over time, with technology, and with tone. It’s a lot like how memories work: they are broken up, don’t follow a straight line, and are affected by both emotion and situation. Jia refers to this as using “a new cinematic language,” one that abandons traditional storytelling in favor of an impressionistic style, using music and imagery to guide the viewer emotionally rather than through conventional plot beats.
NOT A BIOPIC, BUT A MOSAIC OF REAL LIFE
So, is Caught by the Tides based on a true story? The answer lies somewhere in between yes and no. It is not a biopic or a dramatization of a specific individual’s life, but it draws from the lived experiences of millions. It’s a cinematic collage of two decades in China, told through one woman’s journey. Her story may be fictional, but her environment, her struggles, and even her aging are very real.
The film is also a continuation of Jia’s long-standing artistic exploration of characters like Qiao Qiao. In earlier films, she represented the emotional toll of social transformation. In this film, she becomes a vehicle for reflecting on time itself. Her eventual reunion with Bin during the COVID era marks not just the end of a love story, but a full circle of growth and introspection—for both the characters and the country.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Jia Zhangke’s Caught by the Tides offers something rare in cinema: a chance to watch characters—and the world around them—change in real time. It’s an artistic experiment that becomes a poignant reflection of human resilience, identity, and emotional endurance. While not a “true story” in the traditional sense, it is unmistakably honest in its portrayal of life, love, and the shifting tides of time.
In the end, what makes Caught by the Tides feel so real is that it’s a collective story—rooted in personal emotion and national history. It’s not just about Qiao Qiao and Bin; it’s about everyone who has loved, waited, lost, and grown older in a world that never stops changing.
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