But the focus of "Grand Ambition" is on the "owner class, " as exemplified by the taciturn Mr. Von Allmen, now 71, a high-school dropout who did some youthful bumming around before finding his calling in accountancy and eventually becoming a private-equity mogul.

WSJ: Book Review: Grand Ambition

Filmmaker Wu Wenguang, who often is credited as the father of the movement, will be present for screenings Thursday and Friday, including one for his 1990 "Bumming in Beijing: The Last Dreamers, " which explores the lives of five artists living on the fringes of the Chinese metropolis, striving for survival.

WSJ: Repertory Film: Mining Forgotten Gems, Finding the Real China