For the entire first act of “This Shore: a family story”, it feels like a very intimate story. A personal journey of sorts to find out more about the director's family and its imaginative stories. Unfortunately, the second act of the film abandons this idea a little, still trying to tie it together, but not doing as well.
“This Shore” is a Taiwanese experimental documentary by Tzuan Wu, detailing his journey into his family's story, and branching out into a much larger scope of Taiwanese history, immigration, and nomads.
There is a lot to be said about the film, but at the very least it is very distinct in style. Filmed and shown using several different cameras and aspect ratios, blending old and new images together, cutting to shots that are hard to decipher. It's impressive that Wu was able to pull the audience into the film so easily, but much like the flying Dutchman that makes its entrance into the film later on, it felt that the longer it went on, a sense of purpose and direction was lost. Wu tries to tie everything together but does so in a way that seems forced, without the usual benefit of it actually feeling like it's part of a larger whole. The first act is fantastic. It starts of with a great story and makes you long for more. The second half loses you a little, but shows promise.
The ride this film brings you on is interesting and unique, but without a greater sense of narrative, it feels like it loses itself a little bit. However, this is absolutely the kind of short in which different kind of individuals can find unique and fitting meaning. Not everything is explained, rightfully so, and it very much seems to depend on what you would like to see in it. “This Shore” is definitely supposed to be art, and is naturally divisive. Near the end, Wu shows the footage he has already shot and edited to his family. We see their perspective. It's interesting, and once again shows that everyone can have a different point of view on the same images, but once again, feels like it doesn't fit the larger narrative.
By far the longest of Tzuan Wu's shortfilms at 62 minutes, it feels like he might have been carried away a bit in this passion project. However, the artistry is here, and the promise is here. Needing a bit more cohesion and guidance, this is definitely not the last you've heard of Tzuan Wu.
