The World is a Chinese independent film with an ambitious concept that didn't quite make it. At all. It opens with an obscure sequence of events and not much else. The characters are low budget workers and dancers in Beijing's The World park. Perhaps the biggest flaw within the film is just how flat and uninspired the main characters are. It doesn't help when random names and faces appear at any given time; it was difficult to remember what the plot was- before you realize that there is no plot. The animated sequences were distracting and visually contradicting. I admit they were cleverly executed but did not seem to serve much purpose otherwise. The dancing/elaborate costumes clashed horribly with the drab scenery. There were way too many pointless scenes that contributed nothing to anything. What was up with the scene where Tao is cast as an African woman? What did that have to do with anything? And I did not care for the friendship of Anna and Tao. It struggled to be heartfelt because they did not speak the same language, but only succeeded in boring me half to death. I did not know what to make of the ending. What did it have to do with anything? I felt that the movie had a lot of potential to start off with, but there was no character or plot development. It tried too hard to make you aware of "industriliazation" and "modernization" but it really didn't add up to much of anything. <br /><br />I suppose you like watching Chinese people talk/walk/dance/text message, then this is the film for you. 3/10