Director Lou Ye, a prominent figure in the sixth generation of Chinese cinema, known for creating subversive depictions of urban life in post-Tiananmen China, has made a comeback after five years with his latest film, “An Unfinished Film” (2024). This docudrama explores themes of preservation and censorship during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, following a film crew in Wuhan who decide to revive a project abandoned a decade ago, only to be placed under lockdown during shooting. Lou Ye aims to capture the slippery nature of cultural memory through a fabricated narrative that incorporates archival and social media footage.
“An Unfinished Film” takes a documentary-style approach, starting on a significant date in 2019 that marks the anniversary of a canto by Chinese poet Yu Dafu. Mao Xiaorui, an assistant director to Lou’s previous film “Spring Fever,” discovers old film footage on a decade-old computer, inspiring him to create a second half of the film set in the present day. The film crew faces challenges related to censorship and past controversies, leading to a renewed commitment to completing the project.
As the filming progresses, the crew finds themselves in a state of disorder as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds. Restrictions and quarantine measures disrupt the production, forcing the crew to communicate through video calls and document their experiences. Lou Ye’s exploration of preservation and reality takes center stage as the film blurs the lines between fiction and reality, incorporating real-life events from Wuhan into the narrative.
The visual style of “An Unfinished Film” deviates from Lou Ye’s usual gritty, neorealist aesthetics, embracing a mix of DV camcorder footage and Zoom recordings. The film delves into themes of collective memory and the impact of technology on storytelling, but struggles to maintain its focus on the original queer narrative, instead veering towards a more conventional family drama.
“An Unfinished Film” recently screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and is set to release in theaters in the United States in 2025. Lou Ye’s latest work offers a thought-provoking exploration of memory, censorship, and the ever-changing nature of storytelling in a rapidly evolving world.
