Line #9 Film/AshIsPurestWhite


1	[[quoteright:182:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ash_is_purest_white.jpg]]
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3	''Ash Is Purest White'' is a 2018 Chinese film directed by Jia Zhangke and [[CreatorCouple starring his wife, Zhao Tao]] as the lead character Qiao.
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5	The year is 2001. Qiao is a woman who lives in the mining city of Datong in Shanxi[[note]](not to be confused with Shaanxi)[[/note]]. She dates Bin, who is a member of [[TheMafia the local mafia]] and becomes its boss. One day a rival gang assaults him and beats him up; Qiao pulls a gun on them and saves him, but is arrested for illegal possession of a weapon and spends five years in jail (the gun is really Bin's, but she won't rat on him).
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7	As she gets out in 2006, Bin has never visited her and he does not answer his phone. She travels through China in order to find him and have him explain himself.
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9	The film ends in 2017 and features much travelling, showing us [[SceneryPorn many landscapes]] as well as the evolution of China.
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12	!!Tropes:
13	* AbsurdlyHighStakesGame: A person with reduced mobility bets their wheelchair.
14	* ArmorPiercingResponse: At some point Qiao tells Bin that being loyal is part of being in TheMafia; something that he can no longer understand.
15	* ChekhovsGun: Inverted early, as a gun is cocked but never used. Played straight later when Bin gives one to Qiao and teaches her how to use it.
16	* ChurchgoingVillain: Qiao has her wallet stolen by a woman whose only characterisation is to be a Christian.
17	* ConMan: As she is penniless in Fengjie, Qiao cons a man into giving her much cash, pretending to be the sister of a woman he may have had an affair with. She tries this twice; her first mark doesn't fall for it.
18	* {{Determinator}}: Qiao becomes this in her search for Bin.
19	* {{Disco}}: In 2001, the Chinese seem to discover Y.M.C.A by Music/VillagePeople.
20	* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: After spending a small fortune and a great amount of time, Qiao manages to hire a doctor who is able to treat the effects of Bin's stroke and he is able to walk again with the help of a cane. He ends up simply ghosting her, leaving only an envelope of cash and a two word voicemail on her phone: "I left."]]
21	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Qiao enters the movie walking into a gambling parlor with total control, wordlessly shutting down any attempts to flirt with her and lighting up a cigarette at the playing table next to Bin, setting her up as a no-nonsense, confident woman not intimidated by anything.
22	* GiveMeBackMyWallet: Having had her wallet stolen, Qiao finds her thief later and confronts her.
23	* TheLawOfConservationOfDetail: Qiao can push a motorbike in the mud without getting dirty.
24	* ReassignedToAntarctica: Miners in Datong are afraid they may be relocated to Xinjiang. That is not as bad as Antartica, but they are not pleased. It is later said that many people in the Three Gorges are being relocated somewhere else.
25	* ShoutOut: Early in the film, the musical theme from Film/OnceUponATimeInChina is played.
26	* UngratefulBastard: Bin, and how. Not only does he not pay Qiao a single visit in prison or send any letters after she took the heat for him, but [[spoiler: at the end of the movie, he repays her efforts to heal his paralysis with a small wad of cash and pulling his usual disappearing act on her again.]]

Context Film / AshIsPurestWhite