Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

Ai Weiwei is an internationally acclaimed Chinese artist-activist who is provocatively condemning his motherland government for grave social underbellies (in light of an unbalanced economy acceleration) as corruption nonfeasance and misfeasance among officials, systematic injustice, moral languor and freedom repression (a focal point is the aftermath of Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, whose casualties are over 80,000, among which are many children stayed inside shoddily-built school buildings) and valiantly spearheading (not the least in the artist field) a new wave of self-awakening among his fellow compatriots, which has promptly wrought government's mistreatment and investigations, all up to a somewhat "mysterious" disappearance during 2011 for half an year, then later ostensibly claimed by the Chinese government as a series of tax evasion interrogations of Ai's company, then subsequently Ai has been forbid to neither leave Beijing for one-year nor to speak about the matter.

So if one is all familiar with the story, this documentary has rather little novel to offer, first- time director Alison Klayman covers a quite comprehensive range to introduce Ai's art, family and the (short but carefully-selected) comments from his friends and peers, but all falls short of incisiveness and compassion. The family card is an omnipotent weapon to probe a more personal facet of the artist himself (his illegitimate son has been briefly discussed here) which could induce empathy for every single viewer, however, this is a common-law generally fits under any similar context, the real Ai Weiwei is still elusive and taciturn.

With such a contentious figure, Klayman seems to choose a very conservative story-telling which is exuding from a sheer westerner's point-of-view (a lone fighter against the all-evil oriental and dictatorial institution, surely the truth is much more intricate as we all know), still a shred of information betrays Ai's hooliganism in his own tactic, which would arise more interest (at least for myself).

All in all, the film has attest to that Weiwei is a true artist (he is not exploiting all the controversies to grandstand his art work) if nothing else, and by the way, if anyone who is really into Ai's artwork, this documentary is not recommended for you unless you have never heard of his ground-breaking SUNFLOWER SEEDS exhibition.

The subject of this American-made documentary is Ai Weiwei, a Chinese activist and artist. His strong convictions often get him in trouble with his government.

This film is praiseworthy for various reasons. One is its courage in exposing government abuse in a part of the world that is rightfully notorious for its human rights abuses. Another reason to praise the film is its fascinating human subject.

Ai is very likeable and proves to be a great example of courage in how he lives his life. When he is praised for this courage, he gives a fascinating rebuttal to this compliment.

The film covers the period of 2008-2011 with some flashbacks when Ai lived in New York City in the 1980s. His main concern in this film is an earthquake in the Sichuan region in 2008 where several children were killed in a badly built school. Many of his art projects are around this subject and the government's desire to cover up as much as possible about these events.

Considering the power of the Chinese government, it's easy to be cynical. The film shows by the end that there may a bit of hope while still remaining realistic. It is also informative in that it gets into the mind of an artist. While some works of art seem odd at first glance, the artist's explanations make the works more understandable and even fascinating.

"There are individuals who come along in certain periods of time who advance the human spirit to the next level." – actor James Newcomb Heroes are not only those who achieve unprecedented success, but those who create possibilities for others. "Breakthroughs" according to Werner Erhard, "are created by …people who will act to make possibility real." Such an individual is Ai Weiwei (pronounced "Ay Way Way") a Chinese artist and political activist whom Time Magazine named as runner-up for "2011 Person of The Year." Directed by Alison Klayman, the compelling documentary Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, winner of a Special Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, follows Ai Weiwei pursuing his sculpture, architecture, curating, photography, film, and other arts in a political system that does not hesitate to use force, repression, and censorship against those they see as threats to the Communist government.

Ai Weiwei's father was Chinese poet Ai Qing who was denounced and sent to a labor camp with his wife, Gao Ying, an event that had strong repercussions in Ai's life. Ai Weiwei lived in New York from 1983 to 1993 where he studied and worked as an artist. While in New York, he created conceptual art by altering ready-made objects. He also compiled 10,000 photographs that were shown in an exhibit at the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in Beijing and became the subject of a 20-minute film "Who's Afraid of Ai Weiwei" shown on PBS in 2008, a work that was expanded to produce the current documentary.

Using interviews with friends, family members, fellow artists, and young followers, Klayman describes Weiwei's involvement in the Sichuan Earthquake Names Project which listed the names of 5,000 student victims who lost their lives because of shoddy construction of schools, his criticism of the government's use of propaganda to support the Beijing Olympics whose Bird's Nest Stadium he helped to design, and his provocative use of humor in his exhibit using photographs showing his extended middle-finger in front of Tiananmen Square. Weiwei says, "There is no outdoor sport as graceful as throwing stones at a dictatorship." The film also documents the artist's exhibitions in Munich, especially a work called "Remembering" which displayed 9,000 backpacks spelling out the words "She lived happily on this earth for 7 years," a reference to students who were killed in the Sichuan earthquake. Another exhibit shown at the Tate Gallery in London consists of 100-million porcelain hand-painted sunflower seeds made in China. Though China claims that human rights have improved in their country, Ai Weiwei's assault by police thugs attempting to prevent him from testifying at the trial of Tan Zuoren belies the claim. Zuoren, an activist and recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for several articles that, according to Weiwei, were reasonable and not at all provocative.

One of the most important aspects of Weiwei's activism is his use of social media, especially Twitter (@aiww), an activity that he began in earnest after his blog was taken down by the authorities. This is demonstrated by his ability to quickly organize resistance to the government's proposed demolition of his newly-built art studio in Shanghai which they deemed "illegal." Though the documentary breaks no new ground as an art form and only skims the surface of Ai's personal life, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is a well-made and often inspiring film about an artist who is willing to take enormous risks for his own safety to expose human rights abuses and which reaches a new level of intensity when it is discovered that Weiwei has disappeared, leading to world-wide protests and an uncertain outcome.