It is one of the most interesting yet frustrating dilemmas of any culture that while we have such a wide variety of means to express ourselves, there are still aspects of our lives we are unable to put into words or any mode of communication. While it is perhaps wise to leave some things unsaid as defining them would take away rather than add to them, especially in personal relationships we often struggle to find ways of expressing how we feel. Renowned film critic and producer Su Qiqi experienced such an issue during the summer of 2021 as a mixture of “inner anxiety and inexplicable depression”, a personal state which seemed to be reflected in the political landscape of her home country China at that point. As she tried to search for a meaningful way to deal with these feelings, she ultimately decided to make “Talks Overnight”, a blend of documentary and feature.
Talks Overnight is screening at Mint Chinese Film Festival
At the beginning of the feature, we find Su (Su Qiqi) and her husband Ma (Ma Yuebo) in her apartment reading poetry to each other and commenting on the poems. Over the course of the next few days, we follow their routine of meeting friends, having breakfast and drinking coffee in a nearby cafe. Perhaps sparked by a conversation (which turns into a heated argument) of their friends while having dinner together, especially Su expresses her growing concerns about her work, her family life and their recent acquisition of a house. While Ma does his best to give advice and support, he also mentions how he has changed over the last years, from a more optimistic person to someone who has seemingly given in to a system he does not understand fully.
Chinese cinema has neglected the character of the intellectual, but so have many cultures, especially when it comes to taking him/her seriously. We have watched and read many stories of people trying their best to make ends meet in the face of a political-social system that often counteracts their attempts to survive. However, the struggle of the intellectual, as presented in “Talks Overnight” is just as significant, as the knowledge and life experiences of the characters we meet has not prepared them well enough for a world that grows more complex and altogether more misanthropic with each year. There is simply a line which cannot be crossed when it comes to their discourse, which we first witness during the aforementioned dinner scene, that becomes infinitely more frustrating as these people should have the means to express themselves.
At the same time, the silence between the words becomes more and more significant. As we follow the various conversations of the couple, which always arrive at the same issues it seems, the empty spaces become more meaningful, possibly bridging the gap between what can be said and what cannot. At this point we have come to like and feel with Su Qiqi and Ma Yaebo (as portrayed in the feature), wishing them to succeed in their struggle, also for our sake. Because if they fail, what hope can there be for us. Nevertheless, through the power of the images and the beauty of poetry, there is a shimmer of light which may lead us through the darkness that sometimes clouds our world.
“Talks Overnight” is a blend of documentary and feature about the limits of communication and expression. Su Qiqi manages to direct a meaningful and quite touching movie about a very important, and sadly often neglected struggle of our times.
