Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry

01 Jan 2013 1 Comment

by smkelly8 in art, film, movies, politics, Review Tags: , , , , , , , ,

24x36poster1.indd

Be prepared to be blown away. Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry packs quite a punch. This documentary shows Chinese artist cum activist Ai Wei Wei as he stands up for victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and seeks justice after police break into his hotel room in Chengdu and beat him.

The film fascinated me. It follows Ai as he tries to get the government to publish the real numbers of students who died in the flimsy school buildings in Sichuan. With newsreel footage and interviews, it shows the torture and abuse his father endured in the 1950s. I’ve read several books, fiction and non-fiction, about the Anti-Rightist Campaign. The stark newsreels of neighbor denouncing neighbor deepened my understanding of this horrible period.

The documentary shows Ai in New York where he started his art career and in Europe installing current works. Filmmakers follow him as he pursues justice after being beaten by police and detained so that he was unable to testify on behalf of another Chinese activist, who was found guilty.

Ai is mesmerizing. He’s bold, audacious, brave, down-to-earth and shrewd. He’s figured out the power of social media and despite the government’s censorship has attracted a following of Chinese who share his desire for transparency and democracy. These folks aren’t just spectators as we see when Ai protests the government mandated demolition of the studio the government told him to build, hordes show up for his protest. They know they’re being watched and recorded and are willing to take that risk.

Ai knows what the government’s up to and finds clever ways to show it for what it is. Though he doubts he can win, he works within the system seeking justice from the police whom illegally knocked in his hotel room door, beat and detained him. By recording every step of his bureaucratic quest for justice, he shows the world how the government works and that all is not well in the new China.

I found the interviews with fellow artists and Evan Osnos of the New Yorker insightful and trenchant. They show how people who care about China will stick their necks out to make it better, even though they doubt they’ll see improvement.

Living in China myself, I see the good parts and know that experiences like Ai’s and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Liu Xiaobo‘s are true, but it’s so easy to forget. I’m grateful for this movie that reminds me and fleshes out Ai WeiWei’s life and work.

Never Sorry is available on Netflix.

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Jiro Dreams of Sushi

28 Aug 2012 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in film Tags: , , , , , ,

It looks so simple

Jiro Dreams of Sushi delights as it presents the story of a sushi master par excellence. Like Bill Cunningham: NY, this documentary gives us a glimpse of a man whose a master in his field and finds great joy in his art. Jiro is 82 and has a small, unassuming sushi restaurant in a mall that seems to be part of the subway pedway in Tokyo. You would not expect this to be a 3 star Michelin restaurant. It’s maintained that elite status for years.

Jiro and his two sons will make anyone appreciate sushi, even folks like me who don’t particularly like fish. He works so hard at making his food perfect. He’s probably the only chef who insists his apprentices massage octopus for 50 minutes so that it’s perfectly tender. Some may find this sexist, but he gives women smaller portions so that both male and female diners finish eating their sushi at the same time. Evidently, he’s noticed that women would take longer to eat the same size sushi as a man.

I found each moment of Jiro Dreams of Sushi mesmerizing. His description of his childhood and getting kicked out of the house to fend for himself at age 7 or so, his reunion with old classmates, the trips to the fish market – it was such a joy to watch Jiro delight in his work.

Never Sorry

06 Aug 2012 2 Comments

by smkelly8 in art, China, culture Tags: , , , , ,

This documentary on Chinese artist and activist Ai Wei Wei is at the top of my list of films I want to see. My impression of Ai Wei Wei is that he’s a real hero.

The Queen of Versailles

05 Aug 2012 3 Comments

by smkelly8 in film Tags: , , , , , , ,

I haven’t seen Keeping of with the Kardasians or The Real Housewives of Anywhere, but I imagine that The Queen of Versailles is one or two steps above them. American, opulent and way overstated, The Queen of Versailles is an anti-Downton Abbey.

This Sundance award winner documents the riches to rags story of the Siegels a nouveau riche  couple with 8 children building the biggest house in America. Mr. Siegel made his fortune in the time share business and got caught in the banking scandal of 2008. For most of the film, we see how this couple deals with the downward spiral.

Their goal is to keep the time share dynasty afloat and to stay one step ahead of the bankers, whom David Siegel sees as Shylocks and Jackie compares to vultures. Apparently, they’re blind to the irony. David’s fortune was also built on overselling to customers whose desires outstrip their ability to afford. Still since David really is anguished and is working hard to fix his problem concerned that his 7 children with Jackie will have to actually go to college and train for eventual careers. (I do admit that I was smirking as I wrote that last sentence.)

The family seems to be living in a fog and  always has been. Real conversations between them are few and far between. They talk towards each other and deflect a lot of what is said. Everyone ignores the real problems, just as they ignore the dog droppings that are in room after room of their garish mansion.

Enthroned, David and Jackie Siegel

The most genuine people are Jackie, Victoria, age 14, David’s middle aged son from his first marriage and David. Victoria’s endearing when she goes to bat for her mom, telling her dad that he ought to snap out of his funk for a few minutes for dinner since she and her mother went to the trouble of making it. The subtext is clear. You need to consider us more than the finances and the Shrek movie you’re watching in your man cave.

Interestingly, everyone’s more honest and authentic (as much as these folks can be) when they talk to the documentary maker. Victoria sees that her mom was a trophy wife in this May December relationship. She doesn’t put down either parent for that, but calls it as she sees it.

Jackie has charm and generosity that carry the film. I liked her in spite of myself. Yes, she goes way overboard; yes those boobs must be fake; yes, she needs to get with it and start saving and get her life together, but she’s likable and funny. She gives her high school friend whose suburban track house is in foreclosure $5000. Her comments could win Emmy’s if they came out of the mouths of sitcom characters.

Typically, I’d have nothing but contempt for these sorts of people, but they are just so hopeless and a few are funny, that I sort of like them. This may be wrong-headed, but I blame the system more than the people in this film.

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Bill Cunningham New York

01 Jul 2012 4 Comments

by smkelly8 in art, film, opinion, Review Tags: , , , , , ,

Bill Cunningham (!) Taking Kate's Picture

Bill Cunningham (!) Taking Kate’s Picture (Photo credit: Shawn Hoke)

Although I read the New York Times online, I had no idea who Bill Cunningham was. Partly, that’s due to the N.Y. Times limit of stories per month. Now it’s 10. Don’t get me started.

Netflix coaxed me into watching the documentary Bill Cunningham New York. What a gem!

Cunningham is a fashion photographer who celebrates how real people dress with style, wit and charm, but there’s more. He lives with such joy because he loves his work. He loves people and he loves simplicity. He is the heart and eyes of “In the Street” and Evening Hours, a column on parties for the beau monde.

The documentary Bill Cunningham New York invites us into Bill’s office and tiny apartment in Carnegie Hall, which is filled with file cabinets holding his prized work of about 5 decades. We get to see him on the street in all kinds of weather as he captures real fashion worn by everyone from socialites to the down and out. One of the great things about Bill is that he doesn’t judge the people, rather he admires and shares great fashion.

I delighted in his quirks. Though Bill goes to all kinds of expensive galas, he scrupulously refuses any food or drink for fear that these freebies might make him beholden. In fact he’s far from a gourmet. He pretty much eats sandwiches, coffee and probably water or other non-trendy beverages. Though he’s enamored with fashion, he pretty much sports the same nondescript slacks, Shetland sweaters and blue workman’s smocks that he found Paris street sweepers wear. Those smocks are durable, have a lot of pockets and cost like $20. When it’s cold, he dons a beret.

Over 80 years old, Bill’s main form of transportation is bicycle. At the time of the film, he’d had 27 bikes stolen and was on bike 28. He rode home at all hours even after his black tie events. At times I wished he’d take a cab fearing that even with his reflective vest some drunk might plow into him.

Everyone who’s anyone in New York seems to know Bill and the film features interviews with the dandies and socialites who seem to dress for him and his paper. The film shows Bill’s neighbors and fellow artists who face eviction as the artists are getting thrown out to make way for telemarketing or other such tenants. (It’s a shame, but the New York Times must pay Bill a decent salary and he’s been in a rent controlled apartment for over 50 years it seems. He’s not spending his money on food, clothes or transportation.)

Even if you’re not a big fashion lover, I think you’ll love watching a man who lives on his own terms with lots of joie de vivre.

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Please Vote for Me

04 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in film Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Three Candidates

Thank you Netflix. Again they led me to a gem that I’d have never seen. Please Vote for Me is a documentary on the first time a Chinese elementary school has an election for a class monitor. In China, from primary to tertiary school each class has a monitor, who leads, reprimands, organizes and if need be rats on his or her classmates. This role in a class and sometimes these children develop good leadership skills and sometimes they just flounder in their own disorganization. In any event, taking on the position looks good on a resume and can be a step into the Communist Party.

So Evergreen Elementary School in Wuhan embarks on this democratic experiment with kids who have no idea what democracy is. It’s captivating to see the crooked roads the students often take urged on by their parents. There’s no smoked filled back rooms, but that’s not necessary to rig an election we soon see.



The teachers select three candidates: one’s been Class Monitor for two terms already, then there’s a cute, rather docile girl and jocular, yet shrewd boy. In the lead up to voting the candidates must participate in a talent show and a debate or rather ad hominem attack contest, and give a final speech.

More often than not, the race gets negative and kids start crying. Sometimes most of the class is in tears. What struck me was how the teacher just smiled through the drama never trying to teach a lesson in fairness or counsel a candidate to be more respectful. There really was no educational consequence for running a smear campaign.

You will see who wins and I’ll just say it’s the kid I liked the least. I wondered why a school in one party China would attempt this. By the end I thought, this experiment is sure to cure anyone with a desire to make the country more democratic. By making an election, a painful childhood memory, few Chinese will choose that form of government when they’re older.

If you don’t subscribe to Netflix, you can see the film on YouTube.

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Never Sorry

01 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in film, Review Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

24x36poster1.indd

Be prepared to be blown away. Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry packs quite a punch. This documentary shows Chinese artist cum activist Ai Wei Wei as he stands up for victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and seeks justice after police break into his hotel room in Chengdu and beat him.

The film fascinated me. It follows Ai as he tries to get the government to publish the real numbers of students who died in the flimsy school buildings in Sichuan. With newsreel footage and interviews, it shows the torture and abuse his father endured in the 1950s. The documentary shows Ai in New York where he started his art career and in Europe installing current works. Filmmakers follow him as he pursues justice after being beaten by police and detained so that he was unable to testify on behalf of another Chinese activist, who was found guilty.

Ai is mesmerizing. He’s bold, audacious, brave, down-to-earth and shrewd. He’s figured out the power of social media and despite the government’s censorship has attracted a following of Chinese who share his desire for transparency and democracy. These folks aren’t just spectators as we see when Ai protests the government mandated demolition of the studio the government told him to build, hordes show up for his protest. They know they’re being watched and recorded and are willing to take that risk.

Ai knows what the government’s up to and finds clever ways to show it for what it is. Though he doubts he can win, he works within the system seeking justice from the police whom illegally knocked in his hotel room door, beat and detained him. By recording every step of his bureaucratic quest for justice, he shows the world how the government works and that all is not well in the new China.

I found the interviews with fellow artists and Evan Osnos of the New Yorker insightful and trenchant. They show how people who care about China will stick their necks out to make it better, even though they doubt they’ll see improvement.

Living in China myself, I see the good parts and know that experiences like Ai’s and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Liu Xiaobo‘s are true, but it’s so easy to forget. I’m grateful for this movie that reminds me and fleshes out Ai WeiWei’s life and work.

Related articles

Ai Wei Wei’s Gangnam Style Parody

Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales

07 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in movies Tags:

From the archives:

My inattention to my Netflix queue landed a documentary on Chaucer, that I placed there last February, but it was unavailable then, in my mailbox. I watched it anyway though I had no particular urge to see it. Chaucer & the Canterbury Taleswound up being an edifying, though sometimes dry, look at Chaucer’s life and times. I learned a lot about the peasant revolt, the early stirrings against church corruption and how Medieval politics and government worked. The people were beginning to be more involved than I expected. I had never heard of this major peasant revolt against the baronage. The peasants wanted a good king to rule with no self-interested class in between. (They’d have seen a self-interested king as a tyrant.)

Terry Jones from Monty Python offered lots of interesting commentary. That was a high point. The weakness of the documentary was the long narration. The visuals were fitting when they should art of the period or some of the building from that time, but often it got repetitive. It seemed they were at a loss as to how to visualize Chaucer’s life and times. I do see this as good for students learning about Chaucer, because they’ll get a lot of information, though I’d probably break down the viewings to half hour segments.

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