Cities of Last Things (2019) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Zhang kills Shi Zhi-Wen, the Minister of Health, because Zhi-Wen was having an affair with his wife. When Zhang was a police officer, he discovered Zhi-Wen in a compromising position with his wife. Years later, Zhang infiltrates the hospital where Zhi-Wen is unconscious and murders him as an act of revenge for the betrayal that destroyed his marriage and set his life on a downward spiral.

Foreshadowing: Zhang's earlier discovery of his wife with Zhi-Wen planted the seed of vengeance that culminates in the hospital murder.

• shi zhi-wen murder
• revenge
• affair
• betrayal
• minister of health

Zhang strangles his wife during a heated argument about the rejuvenation fluid. However, the real motivation stems from years of emotional torment caused by her affair with Shi Zhi-Wen. When she suggests divorce and confirms her love for her lover, Zhang's accumulated rage and despair explode into violence, leading him to kill her.

Foreshadowing: The earlier scene where Zhang witnesses his wife dancing suggestively with another man foreshadows his inability to accept her infidelity.

• wife murder
• strangulation
• jealousy
• divorce
• rejuvenation fluid

The rejuvenation fluid is a mysterious substance that enhances youthfulness, observed by Zhang when a prostitute uses it. Zhang becomes obsessed with obtaining it as a desperate attempt to reclaim his lost youth and vitality. His fixation represents his broader despair and desire to escape the consequences of his ruined life, ultimately becoming the catalyst for his final violent confrontation with his wife.

Foreshadowing: Zhang's observation of the prostitute using the fluid establishes his desperate longing that drives his later actions.

• rejuvenation fluid
• youth
• desperation
• obsession
• serum

Zhang commits suicide by jumping from a high-rise window after a desperate escape. Having murdered both Shi Zhi-Wen and his wife, he is pursued by drones. The suicide represents the culmination of his complete emotional collapse, having lost everyone he loved (Ara, his wife, his freedom), being consumed by vengeance, and facing the irreversible consequences of his actions, Zhang sees no other way out.

Foreshadowing: The film opens with his suicide, and his earlier contemplation of self-harm during his police days foreshadows this final act.

• suicide
• jump
• window
• escape
• desperation
• end

The film uses reverse chronological order to tell Zhang's story across three distinct periods: 2056 (his middle-aged years leading to suicide), his police career (when he discovered his wife's affair), and his youth (when he met Big Sister Wang). Each earlier period explains the causes of events in the later ones, his youthful trauma and adult betrayals accumulate to create the broken man who commits murder and suicide in 2056.

Foreshadowing: The non-linear structure requires viewers to piece together how past events directly cause future tragedies.

• reverse chronology
• timeline
• three parts
• structure
• non-linear

Zhang first encountered Ara when he arrested her for shoplifting as a young police officer. Instead of charging her, he paid for her stolen items, an act of compassion that created a connection between them. They later spent a night together and dreamed of a life together, but Zhang was arrested on false corruption charges (framed by Shi Zhi-Wen) and served six months in prison. During his imprisonment, Zhi-Wen taunted him about taking care of his wife, and Zhang lost contact with Ara forever.

Foreshadowing: The scene where Zhang pays for Ara's stolen items establishes their emotional connection that haunts him for years.

• ara
• past relationship
• shoplifting
• compassion
• arrest
• separation

When Zhang arrests Ara for shoplifting, he chooses compassion over duty and pays for her stolen items. This act reflects his underlying humanity despite working in a corrupt system. This moment becomes pivotal because it establishes the emotional connection between them that haunts Zhang throughout his life, eventually leading to his obsession with her when he later encounters her as a prostitute.

Foreshadowing: Zhang's kindness toward Ara contrasts with the corruption around him and hints at his capacity for both good and destruction.

• ara
• shoplifting
• compassion
• kindness
• police officer

Zhang's downward spiral begins when he discovers his wife having an affair with his superior Shi Zhi-Wen. This betrayal destroys his trust and sanity. He then loses Ara when he is framed for corruption and imprisoned. Upon release, he finds his wife still involved with Zhi-Wen, leading to murder. The cycle of betrayal, imprisonment, loss, and vengeance drives him to kill both Zhi-Wen and his wife before ultimately taking his own life.

Foreshadowing: His early contemplation of suicide after discovering the affair shows the trajectory of his mental collapse.

• downward spiral
• betrayal
• corruption
• vengeance
• loss
• mental collapse

Big Sister Wang appears in Zhang's youth when they both flee from police on stolen vehicles. During their processing, she reveals she is Wang Xiao Mei, the daughter of Zhang's estranged mother who abandoned him. She urges Zhang to forgive his mother, but he refuses. Wang is tragically shot while attempting to escape, leaving a profound impact on the young Zhang. Her death symbolizes the loss of innocence and foreshadows the tragic fate of women in Zhang's life.

Foreshadowing: The final scene showing a woman and her child at a swing echoes Wang's tragic story and reinforces the cycle of loss.

• big sister wang
• wang xiao mei
• youth
• police
• escape
• mother
• forgiveness

Zhang is framed for corruption by Shi Zhi-Wen after Zhang vandalizes Zhi-Wen's locker in a fit of rage over the affair. Zhi-Wen uses his power to have Zhang arrested on false charges. Zhang serves a six-month prison sentence, during which time he is separated from Ara. This wrongful arrest destroys his career, his relationship with Ara, and sets him on the path of vengeance that defines his adult life.

Foreshadowing: Zhang's impulsive act of vandalizing Zhi-Wen's locker provides the justification Zhi-Wen needs to destroy Zhang's life.

• corruption arrest
• prison
• shi zhi-wen
• frame
• six months
• career destruction

After discovering his wife's betrayal, Zhang seeks solace from prostitutes. His visit to the first prostitute introduces him to the rejuvenation fluid, which becomes a symbol of his desperate desire to escape his miserable reality. His subsequent visit to Ara is driven by her resemblance to someone from his past, deepening his sense of loss. These encounters represent his attempt to fill the emotional void created by his wife's infidelity.

Foreshadowing: His pattern of seeking temporary connection through prostitutes reflects his broader inability to maintain meaningful relationships.

• prostitutes
• solace
• rejuvenation fluid
• ara
• emotional void

The final scene shows a woman and her child at a swing, symbolizing lost innocence and the inexorable cycle of life and tragedy. This haunting image connects to Big Sister Wang's fate and Zhang's own traumatic history. It represents how generational trauma and loss continue beyond Zhang's story, suggesting a bleak cycle of tragedy that repeats through the lives of those connected to him.

Foreshadowing: This image ties together the themes of loss, innocence, and the cyclical nature of tragedy that permeates the entire film.

• ending
• swing
• woman
• child
• innocence
• cycle
• symbolism