The feeling of desperation is so overwhelming in the film that it makes people ponder what has gone wrong in a society that turns ordinary individuals into violent criminals.

Some commentators view the film as a dark and scathing portrait of the economic boom of China and a clash between the cities and the rural areas of the country.

"Part of the film depicts the emptiness of capitalism in modern China," says Jan Schulz-Ojala, a German film critic. "It is also about faith and immorality in a society that worships money and wealth."

But Schulz-Ojala says that as a foreigner he did find it difficult sometimes to relate to the characters. For example, the one played by Wang Baoqiang, who is detached from his family, wandering around the country and killing innocent people for cash without blinking an eye.

At a press briefing in Cannes, Jia said that he started to pay attention to the extreme and sudden cases of violent events of everyday life in China two to three years ago.

"These dramatic and extremely violent incidents worried me greatly. I told myself we needed to address this through film and understand how an ordinary individual can be driven to react in such a violent way," he says.

Meanwhile, social networking also had a strong influence on Jia's creation, as it has changed the way he perceived and connected to the world.

"It made me realize that we are not isolated and our lives are intertwined. Each day all kinds of fragmented information was blown to me at one time and for me that is the reality of the world," he says.

The tragic lives of the four protagonists in the film could easily remind audiences of some true and shocking incidents in the country that caused a stir through micro blogs.

For example, the character played by Zhao Tao was placed in a similar predicament to Deng Yujiao, a young female hotel receptionist from Hubei province. She was charged with murder for stabbing a local bureaucrat to death after being forced to provide sexual services.

Some have criticized Jia's film for being too fragmented, saying the four stories were poorly linked and the characters should have been developed more strongly. Some said that the film was repetitive as the stories and their violent conclusions made the same point.

But some said that it is by far Jia's most accessible and easily understandable film, which will undoubtedly help him gain a wider audience at home.

"I long for Chinese audiences very much," Jia says. "I hope to gain greater attention in China through this film as it discusses the incidents that we are all aware of and somehow are connected to our lives."

A Touch of Sin has been approved by the Chinese authorities and Jia says that he expects it to be screened in Chinese theaters in the fall.

Responding to the question about self-censorship, Jia says that he is dedicated to preserving his creative freedom.

"In every movie of mine, I put my entire and original thoughts and feelings into it without any restraint," he says. "I didn't care too much about whether it went out so smoothly, but one thing I am sure about is that I am fearless inside."

Contact the writer at lixiang@chinadaily.com.cn.