Wang Zhiheng graduated from the digital publishing department of China Academy of Art Shanghai institute of design in 2021. “Patient's Mind”, an experimental animation short was his thesis film.
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Under the sound of percussion-driven music, we witness a patient in a hospital, bedridden. Above him stands a surgeon, while a frame to the small window of the door of the surgery room, shows a woman in tears sitting in those chairs everyone who has ever gone to a hospital knows about. It seems that an instance of the man on the bed is getting out of himself and starts roaming the hospital, while the screen soon is split into two. The focus is on eyes opening and closing, while other frames continue the story, with the woman (probably the mother of the patient, pleading with the doctor who mentions that the surgery will depend on the patient's mind. The narrative continues in the same, surrealistic and delirious fashion, with many of the two simultaneous frames featuring interactions between the surgeon and the patient, who eventually start talking. The patient attacks the doctor, who treats him with calmness and eventually kindness.
Following the ending credits, the frames become five, placed in random positions within the screen, showing once more, the images scene before, in probably the most impressive moment of the movie.
According to the film's description, what we are seeing here is a clash between the patient's inner self and super ego, as he merges identities with the performing surgeon. That what we are seeing is on the patient's mind becomes evident after a point, although one would definitely need a description in order to fully realize what is happening on screen, since the approach here is definitely abstract.
At the same time, though, Wang Zhiheng manages to create a very appealing sense of tension, both through the music, with the speed of the frames matching that of the sound, and the story, which includes both drama and violence after a point. Also of note is the artform, with the director's approach in the drawing looking like that of water color paintings and the splitting of the frame adding to the whole sense of deliriousness that permeates the narrative. The aforementioned speed also works in favor of the short, in terms of entertainment
As such, it is easy to say that the experimental combination of artform and narrative of “Patient's Mind” results in a very appealing 6-minute short, that definitely deserves a watch for the appeal of this mixture.
