Caught by the Tides

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Caught by the Tides

2025

1h 51m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

99%

Tomatometer

74 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

An enduring but fragile love story shared by Qiao Qiao and Guao Bin, set in China, from the early 2000s to the present day. One day, a restless Guao Bin leaves without any notice to try his luck in another province. Qiao Qiao decides to go looking for him.

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Critics Consensus

An intimate epic that captures the passage of time with melancholic clarity, Caught by the Tides might be director Jia Zhangke and star Tao Zhao's most profound collaboration yet.

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Giovanni Marchini Camia

Sight & Sound

Dec 31, 2025

It’s a powerful and moving finale, even if it is familiar.

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Imogen Sara Smith

Sight & Sound

Nov 5, 2025

The loss and displacement attending the promise of progress could hardly be more potently conveyed, yet Caught by the Tides, with its digressive and observational style, never feels heavy-handed or polemical.

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Tim Grierson

Los Angeles Times

Jun 23, 2025

Drawing from nearly 25 years of footage, including images from his most acclaimed films, Jia has crafted a poignant new story with an assist from fragments of old tales.

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Lee Jutton

Film Inquiry

Jan 13, 2026

A sprawling story that feels both intimate and epic, Caught by the Tides epitomizes what makes Jia Zhangke one of our most essential contemporary filmmakers.

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Ellie Lucas

From the Front Row

Dec 31, 2025

Jia reflects on both his own work and the shifting landscapes of modern China as he charts a bold course into the future.

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Ryan Swen

Taipei Mansions

Sep 5, 2025

Much of Caught by the Tides‘s extraordinary achievement rests in the way in which it manages to question every single scene that appears on screen, even as they frequently register with a grand jubilation.

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Tom F

@RT55173143 Jul 18, 2026

Stitching together twenty years of footage results in something at times powerful, at times frustrating.

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Doug H

@RT35797399 Aug 9, 2025

Love story and documentary. I had tears at the end. China changes and love doesn't work. I will watch it again and discover more.

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Steph B

@gotham-movie-lover Aug 2, 2025

This movie was so boring, uninspired, and uninteresting. He should have made a film from all the authentic and historic footage of the 3 Gorges Dam instead of putting us to sleep with the boring story fit into its narrative. A doc on the dam would have been much more preferable to the boredom of 'Caught'.

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Jessica T

@JessicaReview Jul 29, 2025

Some of the scenes are touching. The idea behind it is cool. It's beautifully shot in parts. It's interesting to see's China over the years. Otherwise, it's quite bad. The plotting creates long unwatchable scenes, the symbolism is not subtle or brief, it's so corny, and the characterization is very, very poor. I wasn't familiar with the filmmaker before seeing it and I know it contains scenes from other movies so maybe it's like a greatest hits and less like a movie? I dunno, but I wouldn't recommend it to most people.

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Michael K

@kennedyland Jun 23, 2025

Flat out dull. Sorry

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Persona M

@RT08756583 Jun 13, 2025

PCC money movie, previsible, without soul

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Zhang-Ke Jia

Director

Tao Zhao

Qiao Qiao

Zhubin Li

Guao Bin

Zhang-Ke Jia

Screenwriter

Wan Jiahuan

Screenwriter

Casper Liang Jiayan

Producer

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Synopsis

An enduring but fragile love story shared by Qiao Qiao and Guao Bin, set in China, from the early 2000s to the present day. One day, a restless Guao Bin leaves without any notice to try his luck in another province. Qiao Qiao decides to go looking for him.

Director: Zhang-Ke Jia
Producer: Casper Liang Jiayan, Shozo Ichiyama
Screenwriter: Zhang-Ke Jia, Wan Jiahuan
Distributor: Janus Films
Production Co: Wishart Media , Xstream Pictures, Momo Pictures, Huanxi Media Group
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): May 2, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 5, 2025
Box Office (Gross USA): $290.6K
Runtime: 1h 51m

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