Few directors in any genre anywhere in the world have been able to capture the heart and true essence of a modern nation in just two short hours as Zhang has done with Shijie. After books like Ted Fishman's "China Inc." or Gordon Chang's "The Coming Collapse of China", this film arrives as a breath of fresh air sharing at a very personal level just how a rapidly changing China isn't always dealing with her 'prosperity' and globalization as easily as we would hope. The World is perhaps one of the best modern Asian films in years. We can only hope Zhang Ke Jia will continue to write, direct and interpret his homeland for us for years to come. Shijie is an emotional tour de force on modern China.