Guligo Jia's short documentary “A Monologue about Home” is a part of the New Asia Filmmakers Collective's anti-war initiative “Against The War, In The Name Of Cinema.” In it, the Chinese director interviews a Ukrainian man, Mark, from Russo-Ukrainian heritage who currently studies in Beijing.
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Guligo Jia decides to stick to the classic ingredients of documentary filmmaking, namely talking head interviews with Mark, interspersed with footage of him in his Beijing apartment, as well as archival and news footage from Ukraine. And this works for the majority of this twelve minute short because it manages to make us feel close to him, both through what he says and also the way he acts towards us.
Of course, there are some imperfections in the presentation of this short, such as too predictable cuts and audio clips used for eliciting quick emotional responses. But that is to be expected for a documentary that was made in such a short time, and which aims at making us relate with Mark's longing and worry for home. And still, this very direct and obvious connecting of footage and voice sometimes works to achieve very interesting things. Like how the despair and rubble after the dissolution of the USSR is contrasted with the destruction after the Russian invasion. It is as if in a single day, Ukraine's history and prosperity has gone back at least three decades.
In the beginning of the short, Mark is a bit detached from us, sitting a bit away from the camera, telling about his childhood in post-USSR Ukraine. However, as he spends more time with the director and her camera, he begins to open up more, especially when he starts speaking about the current Russian invasion, his hometown Nikolaev, and his parents who are still there. He starts smoking or walking around his apartment in a worried hurry, thinking about and worrying about Ukraine. By the end, he cooks a meal for the director, in a way accepting her as a friend and shattering the distance between director, subject, and viewer. Very moving in its simplicity and straightforwardness.
“A Monologue about Home” would have been much more impactful if it ended with Mark and Jia eating together a meal the young man has probably learned from his beloved mother. Both of them silently reenacting the sweet memories of home he shares with us while cooking the meal. However, she decides to conclude the short with a brief dance that feels forced and reduced the warmth and sympathy the movie has managed to create in its brief runtime.
