In the program of the International Short Film Festival Interfilm, which took place online from November 11 to December 13, 2020, a section was dedicated to recent productions by Chinese students.
One of the films that impressed in the selection was the fast-told five-minute “The Weak” by Qinting Wang. With a few clever shots, the story of a victim transforms into that of a perpetrator. The emotional turn of the plot comes suddenly, making it seem all the more powerful.
The setting is a school where girls and boys attend classes together. One of the girls has an injury on her cheek and her teacher believes it is from her comrades. Everything indicates that Yi Tong is being bullied. Because Yi Tong has a crush on a boy in the class, her female colleagues want to make her to back off. But Yi Tong is not as weak and in need of protection as her teacher believes. On the contrary, she knows how to help herself, is fearless and succeeds in manipulating the general opinion about her.
Precisely and without frills, “The Weak” draws the character of its protagonist. The images, which consist mainly of close-ups, rely on a reduced language. The actors' expressions show only the most necessary. Qinting Wang has demonstrated a sense of tension, rhythm and formal skill. At the same time, the film makes a contribution to the topic of violence among young people. He talks about jealousy, about the pressure of fitting into a social group and about the quest for identity.
