An Unfinished Film
- 2024
- 1h 47m
ÉVALUATION IMDb
7,2/10
1,3 k
MA NOTE
Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueJanuary 2020. A film crew reunites near Wuhan to resume the shooting of a film halted ten years earlier, only to share the unexpected challenges as cities are placed under lockdown.January 2020. A film crew reunites near Wuhan to resume the shooting of a film halted ten years earlier, only to share the unexpected challenges as cities are placed under lockdown.January 2020. A film crew reunites near Wuhan to resume the shooting of a film halted ten years earlier, only to share the unexpected challenges as cities are placed under lockdown.
- Prix
- 4 victoires et 3 nominations au total
Avis en vedette
I had long heard of this film and rushed to see it as soon as it screened in London. As the film says, how tragic it is to finish a movie that can't be shown. But during a masterclass, the director said he simply forgot-forgot that filming here wasn't allowed, forgot about censorship. He just filmed what they wanted to film, and only afterward did they think about how to solve the problems.
"All your life, you search for a reason to love the land beneath your feet. But what does the greatness defined by others mean to you?" What moved me the most were the real documentary footage and the ending theme. Turns out, I haven't forgotten anything after all. While the film's value lies more in its social reality than in its artistic form, I'm grateful to see directors like Lou Ye still documenting what truly happens in China.
"All your life, you search for a reason to love the land beneath your feet. But what does the greatness defined by others mean to you?" What moved me the most were the real documentary footage and the ending theme. Turns out, I haven't forgotten anything after all. While the film's value lies more in its social reality than in its artistic form, I'm grateful to see directors like Lou Ye still documenting what truly happens in China.
The first half, which moves from the pseudo-documentary format of the crew rebooting a decade-old project in late 2019, to positive footage shot ten years ago, eventually stopping at a screen shot of a documentary format blooper reel. And the second half gradually shifts from a pseudo-documentary at an isolation point to a cell phone vertical screen pseudo-documentary, and finally returns to real web footage. In the epilogue everyone gathers for a drink, speechless, just watching the real documentary material. The director's purpose is also called out. That is, under such a drastic change of the times, man-made movies will be forced to give way to real documentary material at the same time. Forced by the objective environment and the lack of filming conditions, active by the creators to recognize the powerlessness of man-made scripts, even if things have passed, the process of trying to restore the story in any case is not as powerful as the real material. Therefore, this movie is also very self-reflexive while being expressive at the same time. That is, through a pseudo-documentary movie format, it tells everyone about the powerlessness of drama and pseudo-documentary movies. That's why the rating for this movie itself is contradictory. On the other hand, in terms of scarcity, it is indeed one of the few non-main theme movies in mainland China with an epidemic as its background. After making these points clear, I believe we can all make our own judgments. The movie's score and awards thus become less important.
It reminds me of Zheng Yuanjie's novel The Pegasus Bus that I read as a child. A new bus encountered citywide gridlock on its very first trip. The driver adhered rigidly to the rule 'no opening doors before reaching a stop,' refusing to let passengers disembark. The traffic jam lasted twelve years, with the government air-dropping supplies by helicopter to sustain those trapped. Passengers got married, had children, formed organizations, and even apprehended lawbreakers onboard. A new generation grew up within the sealed bus, regarding it as their 'whole world.' Now that I think about it, are we really so different from those living on that bus?
Watched @Vancouver, CA.
This is a mockumentary-style film. During the first third, the constantly shaking camera almost made me nauseous. However, after the halfway point, the film gradually finds its rhythm and becomes increasingly engaging.
For such a major public health event, it was astonishing how quickly the pandemic vanished from public discourse after the lockdowns were lifted-no one talked about it, no one reflected on it, as if it had all been just a dream. Especially in mainland China, discussing the pandemic became a taboo, even though it had been the very center of life for three whole years.
As I watched the film, those buried memories suddenly came back to life. I was struck by the realization that I had once lived through it all so vividly. This chapter of history should not be forgotten - it is the path we have walked to get here.
Throughout the film, I was deeply moved more than once, with tears welling up in my eyes. As someone who lived through the pandemic, I didn't need the film to show me what happened next-I already knew. But when someone holds up those moments for you to see again, they still hit you hard. At the end of the film, the theater echoed with applause-both for the film, and for all of us.
Thank you to the director and the cast for their courage in making this film. I know very well the immense pressure they faced-this film will not be released, or even allowed to be mentioned, in mainland China. Yet still, someone far from home was moved by it, enough to seek out this platform and write an English review-for the path we've walked, and for the sake of conscience.
This is a mockumentary-style film. During the first third, the constantly shaking camera almost made me nauseous. However, after the halfway point, the film gradually finds its rhythm and becomes increasingly engaging.
For such a major public health event, it was astonishing how quickly the pandemic vanished from public discourse after the lockdowns were lifted-no one talked about it, no one reflected on it, as if it had all been just a dream. Especially in mainland China, discussing the pandemic became a taboo, even though it had been the very center of life for three whole years.
As I watched the film, those buried memories suddenly came back to life. I was struck by the realization that I had once lived through it all so vividly. This chapter of history should not be forgotten - it is the path we have walked to get here.
Throughout the film, I was deeply moved more than once, with tears welling up in my eyes. As someone who lived through the pandemic, I didn't need the film to show me what happened next-I already knew. But when someone holds up those moments for you to see again, they still hit you hard. At the end of the film, the theater echoed with applause-both for the film, and for all of us.
Thank you to the director and the cast for their courage in making this film. I know very well the immense pressure they faced-this film will not be released, or even allowed to be mentioned, in mainland China. Yet still, someone far from home was moved by it, enough to seek out this platform and write an English review-for the path we've walked, and for the sake of conscience.
Thanks to the collaboration between people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, this film was able to be released on streaming platforms so quickly. Its style is very different from Lou Ye's previous works-it hardly feels like a traditional movie at all. It's more like a documentary or a vlog. The entire production takes place only in a hotel and a studio, which keeps costs low, but shooting in such confined spaces, combined with many video call scenes, is actually quite challenging.
The story does have tension at first, but later it turns into a monotonous sequence of events mixed with online video flashbacks. The narrative evokes memories of that particular time, creating a sense of resonance, but as the film progresses, that emotional connection gradually fades and becomes dull.
The whole film essentially relies on Qin Hao's performance to carry it. His acting is indeed solid and compelling-without it, the audience would likely find the film even more tedious.
The story does have tension at first, but later it turns into a monotonous sequence of events mixed with online video flashbacks. The narrative evokes memories of that particular time, creating a sense of resonance, but as the film progresses, that emotional connection gradually fades and becomes dull.
The whole film essentially relies on Qin Hao's performance to carry it. His acting is indeed solid and compelling-without it, the audience would likely find the film even more tedious.
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesThe film is banned in China
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Détails
Box-office
- Brut – États-Unis et Canada
- 85 742 $ US
- Fin de semaine d'ouverture – États-Unis et Canada
- 16 183 $ US
- 16 mars 2025
- Brut – à l'échelle mondiale
- 193 559 $ US
- Durée
- 1h 47m(107 min)
- Couleur
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