Light Pillar | 2026 Berlin Intl. Film Festival Review

Capitalism & The Cosmos: Jinwei Ambitiously Explores China’s Future with a Stark Warning For Its Present

Long have Chinese filmmakers used the medium of film to address China’s growing industrialisation and embrace of capitalism. Modern master Jia Zhangke comes to mind as an inspiration but few have tried something quite as unique as with Light Pillar. For his debut animated feature, Xu Zao (also known as Xu Jingwei) has crafted a sometimes baffling, visually daring dreamscape grounded in reality with genuinely unique formal decisions. The animation is pushed to its limits as he weaves live-action performers into its zany, eclectic world — though not in any way you’ve seen before.

Lao Zha (Da Peng) is a lonely janitor in the now skeleton crew of five working for a dilapidated film production company turned obsolete due to the rapid digitalization of a modern capitalist China. Space travel is now possible and what we currently ascertain as entertainment has become unsatisfactory. The rich have got richer, demand for goods smaller and the landscape desolate and continuously covered in thick snow. Despite harsh themes the intricate and delicate hand drawn animation tricks the eye, uncovering beauty amongst the destruction. The company is late with the payroll and Lao Zha heads to collect his half year backpay only to be given a state of the art “Virtual Reality” headset “worth his salary” by his greedy superiors. His only comfort in his cold and poky home is a former “cat actor” from the studio that he has taken on as a pet so instead of selling the headset he becomes lost in the virtual world hoping to find connection. Only the virtual reality is a neon lit world harbouring real humans while the animated world is the “reality” of the film. This hugely impressive and psychological flip creates a stunning and very obvious gap between the audience’s reality and the characters in the film. Who is to say these animated characters aren’t real in the same way we recognise the human’s inhabiting the game Zha has become so enveloped as real as far as our minds can comprehend?

As the narrative advances the film becomes more experimental, Zha begins to fall in love with another player who promises him a ticket to space if he can get her the money. His desperation and great hope makes him a heartbreaking near wordless vessel for the way Capitalist structures destroy people’s lives and passions. It’s a cyclical process where people work more and have less time and less money for themselves. Jinwei is clearly worried about the prospects of contemporary China but he manages to get this across with startling sequences defying logic yet grounding his larger questions. ‘

There is something Ghibli-esque about his style, this is a film bursting with adult themes but one that could be enjoyed by all ages or simply with the sound turned off. Most impressively the film is surprisingly sweet and remains compassionate throughout, rightfully finding a satisfying balance. The appeal of a reality different from our own is universal and space offers a fresh start and a fresh perspective from the world we are currently ruining. Animation is without constraints and it is the perfect lens to push Jinwei’s agenda, especially when the powers that be often feel like they’re out of an animation and lacking basic regard or said restraint.

In the virtual reality people perform simple tasks, eating ice lollies, walking around markets or enjoying a dance surrounded by a hubbub of people. Light Pillar makes the ordinary seem extraordinary and hints at a time where we will pine for normality the way the tech / money obsessed billionaires pine for the newest type of AI or spaceship that’s trying to snuff humanity out. This is a major work and new voice in the world of animation.

Reviewed on February 18th – 2026 Berlin International Film Festival (76th edition) – Perspectives section. 90 mins.

★★★★/☆☆☆☆☆