Films like this irk me to no end. We used to have more feminist/queer/racial-minority films that were actually brave, insightful about the minority experience and with stories resonant with the audience. Today too many among the new generation of filmmakers become complacent and self-congratulatory as soon as they center their films on identity politics, superficial slogan chanting, or progressive grandstanding. One of the biggest problems is a festival circuit that awards such lazy drivel.
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An Unfinished Film 2024
以紐約中國留學生為代表，很多海外中國觀眾在觀看中國電影時有一種我無法理解的歸屬感和代入感，似乎把最簡單的生活細節也看作是影片有意安排的 inside joke，無論是基本的粗口、普通的突發事件或溝通錯位，還是角色在驚訝或困惑時的正常反應，都一定要報以「會心」大笑，來確認自己的「自己人」身份，如果撿不到樂，虧了票錢事小，無法和全場中國觀眾心靈相通可了不得。這樣的觀眾以小品或真人秀的視角來看電影，喪失了辨識簡單情感細節、與日常生活共情的能力，對敘事的反應只有大悲和大喜兩個極端。所以當你看到這樣一部完美捕捉了當時的社會心態，把強烈的痛苦和無助赤裸裸地重新演繹的電影時，就很難不為創作者感到不值，因為他們的同胞們僅能與最直白而表面化的表達產生連結，在對真實生活的複雜重構面前則像看猴戲般，只感知到事不關己的樂子，那這樣的電影是要給誰看，這樣的歷史又該由誰來記憶和保存呢？
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Will You Look at Me 2022
一次懶惰而投機的創作。在某種意義上和當下某些中國紀錄片作者的問題相似，雖然靠前世積德投胎到孕育苦難的土壤，但除了羅列最為駭人的圖景之外，站在創作者的立場上其實無話可講，沒有任何分析和解構的能力可言。展現最私人的情感流露瞬間，局外人當然會受到震動，但對於熟悉苦難的人來說，這樣的 emotional exhibitionism 之下所隱藏的算計實在是太容易看穿了。母子一齊痛哭的時候，已經啟動錄音設備的導演反覆哭喊著同一句話，當中有幾次是發自內心，有幾次是在為觀眾表演呢？
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Almost Entirely a Slight Disaster 2023
This is so bad at depicting human life that the writer-director must have only experienced it second-hand.
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