Film Review - An Unfinished Film

Images courtesy of Sharmill Films.

There are few films that you will watch like director and writer Ye Lou’s docufiction, An Unfinished Film. 

The film begins with the unboxing of a 10-year-old computer with odds of it turning on looking dubious; the kind of experience akin to finding an old family VCR camera in the attic and wondering what might be contained in the bowels of its storage.

This computer has the unfinished film on it. All the files. All the recordings. The story begins.

Establishing the characters and their connection to the unfinished film sees the original film crew get back together again in January 2020 for one last attempt at getting the film completed, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This film is set close to Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the virus outbreak.

Throughout the film, important social issues are addressed with intricate design and a sprawling storyline. While a present-day reading can foreshadow the pandemic’s impact on the crew completing the film, other social conflicts within the context of mainland China imbue the story with more depth to be explored.

The unfinished film itself features an LGBTQIA+ protagonist living in China who falls in love with a boy who has a boyfriend. Scenes from the film highlight a boyish playfulness, complemented by moments of tenderness in their relationship. It’s important to note that same-sex unions are not recognised in China, and censorship of them in the media is an ongoing issue.

There are poignant and understated references to the aforementioned social and political issues woven into the storyline. There are also moments of humour, moments that make you think and moments that don’t quite make sense, but still manage to add to the film.

The camerawork in the “contemporary” or “now” is shaky and handheld camcorder-like. There is a certain air of authenticity about it, as though it’s happening in real time. There is panic and urgency as the situation we now know as COVID started unfolding in Wuhan and set in motion barriers to filming and completing the film.

An Unfinished Film has received mixed reviews on IMDb, with some describing it as traumatic, others saying it was poignant, and some saying it either didn’t make sense or didn’t really hit the mark in terms of commentary and message. 

The pacing of the film is quite slow and does no favours to audience engagement, nor is the quality of shots and audio of particular note. The film reads mostly like a mockumentary or documentation of experiences, though there is value in watching and taking note of the ways this story is captured via an on-the-nose symbol right in the title; the unfinished film.

If nothing else, critic Alissa Wilkinson’s review for The New York Times sums up An Unfinished Film best: “Life gets in the way of art all the time, and art can be made out of life. What matters, the movie suggests, is hanging onto one another for dear life.”

This movie feels like a missing perspective that got swept up and lost in all the discourse and conspiracy surrounding the pandemic, and the very real experiences of those who lived it first.

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An Unfinished Film is screening in select cinemas now. For tickets and more info, click here.