Trinh T. Minh-ha has made a name for herself by transcending the boundaries of genres through her experimental films, and this “documentary” is not an exception
The film was part of ICA's retrospective of Trinh T. Minh-ha
As the title plays with the meaning of an ancient Chinese game, so does Trinh with a number of concepts, using Mao's speeches as a base, and particularly his phrase “Let a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend.” Through a combination of narration and interviews, the director delves deeply into China's backbone, dealing with subjects such as history, culture, movies, theater, politics, even the connection with Africa. All of the above are intermingled with footage from calligraphy, drawings of dragons, and traditional Chinese opera music.
The imaging and the music do not always correspond to the narration, but this also stresses the allegorical nature of the movie, as Trinh plays, correspondingly, with colors, rhythm and the connection between ear and eye, through a cinematography that could only be described as unique. The framing of the interviews, which is quite unusual, with occasionally both the interviewer and the interviewee not showing their faces on screen, covered by shadows, is a great sample of this tendency.
As is usual the case with experimental films, the aforementioned connection is not easy to recognize or interpret, and the documentary definitely demands the unwavering attention of its audience in order to avoid getting lost in the labyrinths of all the above aspects, as the editing follows the same experimental ways of the imaging. However, if one could split image and narrative, he would discover very interesting information regarding the aforementioned topics and a plethora of impressive images, with the music providing an excellent background for both.
Evidently, “Shoot for the Contents” is not a spectacle directed to the mainstream audience. However, if one gives it a chance, one will find a very interesting combination of information and art, which, although does not succeed to the fullest every time, will definitely pick its audience's interest.
