Notes from Beijing

  • Rated Not Rated

Find Movie Theaters & Showtimes

for
near
in
COMING SOON

Check back soon for more information.

Browse Local Theaters

Videos & Photos

Movie Info & Cast

Synopsis

Eight-part documentary about the city of Beijing, shot from August 1988 to January 1991. Seven of the eight episodes were broadcast on Beijing Television.

Letterboxd User Reviews

N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
RATINGS N/A FANS
  • Jan 19, 2026

    For my Chinese speaking followers — or anyone who knows how to use a decent AI translator — who are interested in a more detailed account of the year-long effort to locate Notes from Beijing, you can now read a beautiful diary written by my main collaborator and research…

    12 Likes
    Sam C. Mac
    Sam C. Mac
    Dec 14, 2025

    Part 5 (broadcast version)/Part 4 (work tapes version): “Notes on Labor” Finished drafting English subtitles.  Wang’s favorite shot is from this one.

    9 Likes
    Sam C. Mac
    Sam C. Mac
    Dec 6, 2025

    Part 4 (broadcast version)/Part 2 (work tapes version): “Idle Talk on Place Names” Finished drafting English subtitles. 

    7 Likes
    Sam C. Mac
    Sam C. Mac
  •
    Sep 10, 2026

    LOS ANGELES You have one chance to see Notes from Beijing This Saturday, September 12 @ Gardena Cinema Filmed simultaneously with Tiananmen, Notes from Beijing likewise records the Chinese capital from 1988 to 1991. Yet where Tiananmen approaches Beijing expansively,…

    2 Likes
    Sam C. Mac
    Sam C. Mac
    Jan 15, 2026

    Rewatch of parts 1-6 (following the original work tape order) + part 7 (rough draft, missing narration, credits). Today, after retrieving and searching through the final batch of tapes from Wang Zijun’s family, it appears that we will not be able to recover any more of the…

    7 Likes
    Sam C. Mac
    Sam C. Mac
    Apr 13, 2026

    unexpectedly cried a lot when the old lady in ep. 5 started crying and then i couldn't stop for longer than normal. didn't expect that at all given how the film had meandered up until that point, holding my attention more or less. felt like i felt watching joris ivens'…

    6 Likes
    salima
    salima
  •
    Jan 10, 2026

    Research Status Update: A correctly transferred tape of part 3 (work tape version) has been located and digitized, replacing the incorrectly cropped version we had. An early draft of part 7 (a “base tape” without narration) has also been located and digitized, meaning only…

    6 Likes
    Sam C. Mac
    Sam C. Mac
    Mar 29, 2025

    Part 4 (broadcast*): “Idle Talk on Place Names” This part is fascinating—if also kind of a nightmare for non-native Chinese speakers: Large chunks are devoted to boisterous, overlapping dialogues and high school classroom lectures pertaining to the subject of toponymy,…

    7 Likes
    Sam C. Mac
    Sam C. Mac
    Apr 13, 2026

    very sweet and beautiful and just the right amount of genuine sentiment, I was just horribly distracted so I think overall had a hard time appreciating it. super packed theater for a 3 hour screening which is always amazing! I think the couple in front of me left to smooch…

    6 Likes
    KARLi
    KARLi
See All Reviews on Letterboxd.com

Atom Users Reviews

No one has posted a user review yet.

Metacritic

tbd
metacritic
There are no critic reviews yet
tbd

USER SCORE (0)

There are no user reviews yet

Frequently Asked Questions

What's Notes from Beijing about?
Eight-part documentary about the city of Beijing, shot from August 1988 to January 1991. Seven of the eight episodes were broadcast on Beijing Television.