Lou Ye's acclaimed 'An Unfinished Film' remains unfinished

toggle caption Yingfilms Pte. Ltd., Essential Filmproduktion GmbH

The most extraordinary thing about Chinese director Lou Ye's An Unfinished Film (2024) is how ordinary it is, considering the attention it has garnered globally. In semi-documentary style, the 106-minute flick follows a film crew as they try to resurrect a 10-year-old project, and find themselves quarantined at a hotel near Wuhan, China, in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Lou's movies are known for their intricate storylines and complex figures, but An Unfinished Film is surprisingly simple, containing little plot or character development.

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Since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last year, the modest feature has become one of the most lauded and controversial Chinese movies in recent years. Although it is censored in China, the film has won Best Director for Lou at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan, the most prestigious stage for Sinophone cinema. Overseas Chinese viewers packed the screenings in Paris and Tokyo; some shouted at the end, "Lou Ye, you are the greatest director from China!"

Yet, the accolades the film has received are not so much an assessment of its artistic value but a recognition of its creators' courage. That the movie was made has proven a possibility. The positive reception it has generated reflects the audience's hunger for more honest portrayals of the pandemic. The more important question, then, is not whether An Unfinished Film is a masterpiece — it is not — but why so many seem to demand it to be.

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