Rating: ****
Ai Weiwei is a giant in Chinese arts scene,
a giant in the international arts community, and a giant pain in the butt for
the Chinese government. Despite China’s reputation as a place that clamps down
hard on any and all criticism, Ai Weiwei stood boldly in contrast, poking and
prodding the state, practically daring them to “black bag” him. For a minute
there last year, it seemed that Ai Weiwei had finally been silenced, but
international response was resounding, and after 81 days he was released from
custody.
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry offers incredible access into the artist and his world, but it’s
also a serendipitous chronicle of the weeks leading up to Ai Weiwei’s arrest
and the events that may have been the last draw for the Chinese government. In
stark contrast to his homeland, Ai Weiwei is open and engaged, willing to be
questioned and challenged in conversation. He really is the perfect subject
matter for a documentary, and is a thoroughly captivating character.
But beyond the hindsight build up to Ai
Weiwei’s arrest, director Alison Klayman plays with a number of themes: the
fine line between art and activism, working within and without strict state-run
censorship, and trying to promote change from the outside while still working
from the inside. It’s heady stuff, but Ai Weiwei is such a relatable figure.
Quite often the arts seem impenetrable to the layman, and the discussion of it
requires a language most people don’t understand. But Ai Weiwei and his work
flies in the face of that.
What’s weird is that in the midst of being
surveilled and continually, sometimes literally, sticking his middle finger out
to the Chinese government, you’re never concerned for Ai Weiwei, even if you
have some idea what’s coming. He’s a rebel with a cause, and a glass half-full
disposition. The film too is an extension of the artist’s spirit, not
preaching, not condemning, and not afraid. The dividing line between art and
politics falls away, and for Ai Weiwei, his politics become his art. Or vice
versa.
Klayman effortlessly balances a lot of
balls in the air and manages to tell a story that’s biographical, political,
cultural and human. It’s all of those things and none of them. At least all
that once. It’s a fascinating trip inside the mind of a man that shares his
uniqueness without having to deconstruct the magic out of it.
