Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry makes for an interesting counterpoint to the recent street art doc, Exit Through the Gift Shop. While agitation artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey dance around the edges of real political activism, safe under the cover of night and anonymity, a true original like Ai Weiwei stands bold in the face of tyranny, ignorance, and oppression. The soft-spoken, charismatic Chinese artist is nonetheless an incredible showman, who uses social media to promote his rabble-rousing message. It's also that ability to connect with his audience so easily that makes him so dangerous to his country's oppressive government.
Alison Klayman's simple, but spirited documentary introduces us to the eccentric Weiwei not long after completing work on the famed 'Bird's Nest' for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In true Weiwei form, he would soon actively denounce the entire exhibit and the Games themselves as merely propaganda, a "fake smile" to the rest of the world. Jabbing a finger into the eye of his government, like when he took a series of photos flicking off a number of famous landmarks, such as Tienaman Square, has become the cause of his life. Through a wide smile and bright eyes, Weiwei knows full well the impact of his political observations, blasted across the world via his devoted subjects and thousands of Twitter followers. He also recognizes that despite his notoriety and influence, if the Chinese government decides to make him vanish, they can and will.
Weiwei, through his diligence, creative spirit, and fierce loyalty to the people of China, has risen to the point where he stands as one of the sole voices against the authorities and what he perceives as deliberate attempts to misinform the public. After the horrific 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Weiwei spearheaded an investigation into the poorly built "tofu" schools, which he says led to the deaths of thousands of schoolchildren. What's even more fascinating than Weiwei's brash stance against the government(he frequently gets into physical altercations with the police), is how they respond to Weiwei's attacks. Weiwei is often hauled into custody for trumped up charges; is under constant surveillance and encouraged to not stay in one place too long; and his studio was even singled out for destruction. Through it all, Weiwei remains undaunted.
Appropriately free of bells and whistles, Klayman's film is a model of restraint, allowing Weiwei's personality and outgoing nature reel the viewer in. Weiwei's art, unfortunately, doesn't get the attention it deserves, as the film focuses more on his activism than how he comes up with his inventive ideas. The film doesn't suffer much because of this, as Weiwei makes for such a compelling, prolific figure that one could easily fill two or three documentaries just on what he does in a single week. Easily one of the best documentaries of the year, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry honors a man who has harnessed his skills to try and effect real and lasting change.
