Review of Platform (2001) by Mitchell W — 17 Mar 2008

A slow, earthy look at how Chinese culture's evolved in what's essentially a social laboratory in the way its isolated and controlled by government policy. It does test your patience, but it's a rich, fascinating picture. I'd recommend seeing it with a few short breaks just to make it easier to digest. (The shorter, two-and-a-half hour cut is tighter and better. The longer version is actually an earlier cut done in a rush.).

The story's social implications are pretty bleak, but how this picture got made is very inspiring. The Chinese underground can be misinterpreted and exaggerated in its 'clandestine' nature, but stripped of romanticism, it's still very idealistic. Unwilling to risk censorship, the movement's filmmakers often make pictures knowing they would remain underground within China's borders. Obtaining a pirated copy would not be difficult, but without advertising or public exhibition, their exposure would be severely limited. Yet a picture like "Platform" exists anyway, and what Jia's accomplished should empower any artist anywhere.