Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012)

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Ai Weiwei isn't just a hilarious name to say to any Englishman but also a name associated with freedom of speech in modern day China. An artist by trade, Mr Weiwei is now more (in)famous for saying 'fuck you' to the Chinese Government than putting any brush strokes to canvas.'Never Sorry' is the documentary from debut director Alison Klayman resulting from her four years following China's most famous artist as he travels around China and the world causing further and further headaches for local police and the Chinese Government. Concentrating as much on political acts than artistic ones, the film shows the importance of Twitter and social media in a country such as China, showing as many of his status updates throughout the film as Richard Herring will commit in a 90 minute period. The balance between politics and art is well maintained throughout, reminding that he has actually done some good works over the years - as well as breaking some old pots - while showing the political motivations in his work through interviews with various peers and colleagues over the last three decades.But saying 'fuck you' and breaking some vase-thing doesn't come without its fair share of problems. Various confrontations with police, sometimes violent, are shown, as well as his non-mysterious disappearance in 2011 and the momentary stem in the flow of his freedom of speech. The documentary is more about freedom of speech than a biopic of an artist, using him as an example of the impact of social networking, as well as what happens when the rules are broken.There are some weak points, such as the mystery around his son with a woman that isn't his wife – a topic that his wife is not questioned on and which he is coy – that is only mentioned and not explored; and his confrontation with police while sticking cameras in their faces probably provokes a response from law enforcement that would be met in most nations in the world. As noted, the fact that someone like Ai Weiwei exists shows that there has been some change in China over the years, though the fact that his words are met with such strong response from the Government shows that there is still a long way to go before China becomes a nation where people can freely express their opinions to the world on Twitter without fear of arrest and prosecution – unless, of course, you're a Premiership footballer.www.politic1983.blogspot.com

There are times when I watch a documentary that I realize I am incredibly under-educated on real world issues. Perhaps my head is to glued on the silver screen and television for me to stop and actually research international issues or maybe I am in a country where Kristin Stewart cheating on Robert Pattinson is the only news I hear about for days at a time. Either way, one of my favorite parts about watching a documentary is hearing the stories I would never hear otherwise and coming to a better understanding of other countries, cultures, and struggles for both.This is exactly how I felt after seeing the documentary Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry. The story of a very popular artist trying to make change in China, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is a great definition of David vs. Goliath; the everyday man against a system and a country that tries to hold him down.While Ai Weiwei is a very famous artist in China, this film is not necessarily about his art. It definitely covers some of his major pieces that he has done to raise questioning and explanations for the deaths of thousands in China from a deadly earthquake, but the doc is more about his personal fights to try and raise knowledge world-wide and striving to have the country explain many of the "accidents" that have occurred.The main incident that begins this entire journey is Ai Weiwei's attempt to find out more information on thousands of children that died in school collapses resulting from an earthquake. The main concern is that Ai Weiwei believes shoddy architecture, which he refers to as 'tofu' construction, was what caused the schools to collapse and that the tragedies could have been avoided.The reason this actually becomes a story is not because he wants to find out the names of the children that died, it is because the government has not released the names AND tries to hinder Ai Weiwei in finding all the names himself. The government shuts down Ai Weiwei's online blog and squashes any of his attempts to question families and communities about the deaths.Eventually, Ai Weiwei receives over 5,000 names by using mail, interviewing families in person, and using Twitter. What is amazing is this doc is just as much about technology as it is about Ai Weiwei's fight. Eventually, Ai Weiwei is beaten by police, fights for justice against the policeman who wronged him, and has many artists and friends around him who are imprisoned or go missing. This is all documented for the world in the only way Ai Weiwei can: through Twitter. With the Chinese government unable to restrict anything Ai Weiwei does on Twitter, he is free to share his stories and any information he finds through the social website.To read the rest of the review (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/ai-wei-wei-never-sorry/

I'll be honest, I am not a political activist. I am not on top of what's happening in the world or in politics both nationally and internationally. And I have one thing to say about that after seeing this movie. Shame on me! For those of you who don't know him (I didn't until this January), Ai Weiwei is a political artist and activist. He is a sculptor, a painter, a muralist and a lone spokesperson in China who opposes the oppression of his country and the lies that he feels they tell. He dares to speak his truth in what is happening behind the closed doors through his artwork and his words. This movie entranced me from the beginning with its humor and information. It was beautiful and frighteningly ugly to see Ai Weiwei's story. He was followed by a group of documentarians who filmed Ai Weiwei and interviewed those around him, from his mother to his wife, friends, and child. Ai Weiwei was depicted as a bright, articulate, and talented man who wanted to make things better for the next generation as he felt his father's generation failed him. Utilizing his art, Ai Weiwei told horrific stories of what the government has covered up. We continued to watch as Ai Weiwei pushes the governments buttons and the envelope. The government was filmed trying to intervene with Ai Weiwei's attempts to communicate what the government was doing. Internet shutdowns lead to Ai Weiwei utilizing Twitter to communicate each and every step of his drama. Brutality from the government was evident. They wanted him shut down and would do anything. Ai Weiwei's future was at stake, but he will risk everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, in order to ensure that his son will have a better future. No fictional movie could have been written to depict a stronger leader and spokesperson than Ai Weiwei. This was real life. This was a man wanting to change the world. That really puts all the rest of us to shame. We take so much for granted. The Facebook posts I see from "friends" who disagree with Obama and can say so with no fear of death or beating. Ai Weiwei didn't have that luxury. We have freedom. We take it for granted. We are spoiled. Think twice the next time you have an opinion and voice it either to a friend or on-line. There are no repercussions. Ai Weiwei wants the citizens of China to have that same freedom.This documentary was one of the most emotional, educational, yet somehow still entertaining (and sometimes funny!) documentaries I have ever had the honor of seeing. Seek out this movie. It's a limited release, but worth the drive to see it. It will change you and how you view the world. How many movies can do that?

This documentary covered a serious look in various aspects on the Chinese artist/ activist, Ai Wei Wei. He was quite famous even before his 2008 Beijing Olympic main structure, Bird Nest. The shooting style was rather straight forward. As a documentary, the most important thing is the subject of the documentary. Definitely, Ai Wei Wei was an interesting subject that does not require a lot of enhancement work in other areas. The documentary was very rich with interview like local culture blogger, colleague, friend, wife, son's mother, mother and himself. More importantly, couple events like following up with the assault cases in very tense situation does capture attention because it is real event with some hidden camera. In one of his art, he dropped a two thousand year old Han Dynasty Chinese urn and toke picture of it. At first, people might though he was an insane post-modern artist who was acting weird with his new age behavior art. He also painted over those antique urns with funky bright yellow and blue color. It may be a heartbroken experience for those antique lovers. Later, he explained the city of Beijing was just like those Han's urns. The city was torn down for new development. That was of power of his art which making strong statement and interesting parable. His expression echoed the prophet in the Bible like Prophet Nathan. Prophet Nathan told a story of how a greedy rich man ripping of the poor to King David. King David was very upset of this story. But, Prophet Nathan later pointed out that King David actually was the one who ripped off the poor by taking someone wife and murdered her husband. Both of Ai Wei Wei and Prophet Nathan had the power of using parable to have a sneak behind attack before the defense system was setup.