Director:
Li Ning
Running Time:
168 min, 2010, China, In Mandarin w/ English subtitles
Summary:
Performance artist Li Ning turns his life into art in this epic work of experimental documentary. For five grueling years, Li documents his struggle to achieve success as an avant-garde artist while contending with the pressures of modern life in China. He is caught between two families: his wife, son and mother, whom he can barely support; and his enthusiastic but disorganized guerilla dance troupe. Li’s chaotic life becomes inseparable from the act of taping it, as if his experiences can only make sense on screen. Tape shatters documentary conventions, utilizing a variety of approaches, including guerilla documentary, experimental street video, even CGI. The film captures a decade’s worth of artistic aspirations and failures, while breaking new ground in individual expression in China. Synopsis courtesy of dGenerate Films.
“A riveting portrait of an artist’s attempts at expression and conflicts with societal norms.”
– Museum of Modern Art
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