MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for I Wish I Knew

I Wish I Knew

2010 · 125 min

A hushed, contemplative drift through memories and old buildings, rewarding patience with quiet historical resonance.

Directed by
Jia Zhangke
Genres
Documentary, History
Starring
Zhao Tao, Chen Danqing, Hou Hsiao-hsien
Overview
Focuses on the people, their stories and architecture spanning from the mid-1800s, when Shanghai was opened as a trading port, to the present day.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Add to a list: I Wish I Knew

You have no lists yet. Name one, and this title goes into it.

All your lists

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Jia Zhangke
Genres
Documentary, History
Starring
Zhao Tao, Chen Danqing, Hou Hsiao-hsien
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
    Pacing
    slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
    Attention
    demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
    Themes
    • memory
    • identity
    • class
    • work
    • aging
    Places
    • big city
    Era
    period
    Audience
    adult
    Form
    • documentary
    • true story
    Content intensity
    • Gore none
    • Language none
    • Violence none
    • Sex none
    All scales, 0 to 10
    Scales, 0 to 10
    ScaleValue0 to 10
    Action0
    Horror0
    Humour2
    Realism10
    Romance2
    Tension1
    Darkness3
    Complexity7
    Emotional weight6

    More like this

    Titles like I Wish I Knew

    Movie

    24 City

    2008

    A quiet, reflective experience that drifts between memory and observation, asking patience as it lets ordinary voices carry the weight of a disappearing world.

    Same writer: Jia Zhangke · Slow-burn · about memory and identity · documentary

    Also
    Same writer: Jia Zhangke
    Via
    • memory
    • identity
    • documentary
    Pacing
    slow-burn
    Attention
    demanding
    Runtime
    108 min
    Details
    24 CityHidden from your suggestions.
    Movie

    My Voyage to Italy

    1999

    A warm, unhurried lecture from a passionate cinephile, rich with clips and reminiscence, rewarding for anyone who loves film history.

    About memory and identity · documentary

    Via
    • memory
    • identity
    • documentary
    Pacing
    measured
    Attention
    engaged
    Runtime
    246 min
    Details
    My Voyage to ItalyHidden from your suggestions.
    Movie

    Caught by the Tides

    2024

    A slow, impressionistic drift through two decades of longing and change, blending memory and fiction into a quiet, haunting experience.

    Same writer: Jia Zhangke · Slow-burn · about memory and identity · documentary

    Also
    Same writer: Jia Zhangke
    Via
    • memory
    • identity
    • documentary
    Pacing
    slow-burn
    Attention
    demanding
    Runtime
    111 min
    Details
    Caught by the TidesHidden from your suggestions.
    Movie

    A long, gentle drift through someone's home movies, warm and nostalgic, asking you to surrender to memory's loose flow.

    Slow-burn · about memory and aging · documentary

    Via
    • memory
    • aging
    • documentary
    Pacing
    slow-burn
    Attention
    demanding
    Runtime
    288 min
    Details
    As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of BeautyHidden from your suggestions.
    Movie

    The Gleaners and I

    2000

    A gentle, curious ramble through fields and markets, full of small human encounters and quiet wonder at what others throw away.

    About class and work · documentary

    Via
    • class
    • work
    • documentary
    Pacing
    measured
    Attention
    engaged
    Runtime
    82 min
    Details
    The Gleaners and IHidden from your suggestions.
    Movie

    Cave of Forgotten Dreams

    2010

    A hushed, reverent drift through an ancient cave, where flickering art and Herzog's musings inspire quiet awe.

    Slow-burn · about memory · documentary

    Via
    • memory
    • documentary
    Pacing
    slow-burn
    Attention
    engaged
    Runtime
    90 min
    Details
    Cave of Forgotten DreamsHidden from your suggestions.
    Movie

    What We Leave in Our Wake

    2010

    A quiet, essayistic drift of voices and images that asks you to sit still and think about what a country remembers.

    Slow-burn · about memory and identity · documentary

    Via
    • memory
    • identity
    • documentary
    Pacing
    slow-burn
    Attention
    demanding
    Runtime
    70 min
    Details
    What We Leave in Our WakeHidden from your suggestions.
    Movie

    Cameraperson

    2016

    A quiet, reflective collage of remembered images that asks you to sit with human moments and think about what seeing through a lens means.

    Slow-burn · about memory and identity · documentary

    Via
    • memory
    • identity
    • documentary
    Pacing
    slow-burn
    Attention
    demanding
    Runtime
    102 min
    Details
    CamerapersonHidden from your suggestions.
    Movie

    42 Up

    1999

    Quietly absorbing and humane, like catching up with old acquaintances whose ordinary lives slowly reveal the weight of time and circumstance.

    About memory and identity · documentary

    Via
    • memory
    • identity
    • documentary
    Pacing
    measured
    Attention
    engaged
    Runtime
    133 min
    Details
    42 UpHidden from your suggestions.
    Movie

    Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold

    2017

    A warm, wistful portrait that lets a sharp mind muse on loss and craft, feeling like an intimate conversation with someone you admire.

    About memory and identity · documentary

    Via
    • memory
    • identity
    • documentary
    Pacing
    measured
    Attention
    engaged
    Runtime
    92 min
    Details
    Joan Didion: The Center Will Not HoldHidden from your suggestions.
    Movie

    Kubrick by Kubrick

    2020

    A quiet, thoughtful portrait that lets a famously private artist explain himself, rewarding patient viewers with insight into a brilliant mind.

    About memory and identity · documentary

    Via
    • memory
    • identity
    • documentary
    Pacing
    measured
    Attention
    engaged
    Runtime
    74 min
    Details
    Kubrick by KubrickHidden from your suggestions.
    Movie

    Sans Soleil

    1983

    A hypnotic, essayistic drift through images and ideas that rewards patience with a profound sense of wonder and melancholy.

    Slow-burn · about memory and identity · documentary

    Via
    • memory
    • identity
    • documentary
    Pacing
    slow-burn
    Attention
    demanding
    Runtime
    100 min
    Details
    Sans SoleilHidden from your suggestions.

    Where to watch in the UK

    No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

    Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

    Details

    Genres
    documentary, history
    Directed by
    Jia Zhangke
    Written by
    Jia Zhangke
    Starring
    Zhao Tao, Chen Danqing, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Wang Tung, Wei Wei, Rebecca Pan, Han Han, Lim Giong
    Cinematography
    Nelson Yu Lik-wai
    Runtime
    125 min
    Country
    China
    Languages
    Mandarin

    TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata