User reviews

Modern technology can increasingly track every aspect of our lives; and in few places is this put to greater effect than in China, whose state seeks to repress political dissent and encourage socially conformant behaviour. This documentary follows a group of (relatively affluent) Chinese who have found themselves on the wrong side of the government; while also looking more broadly at what how the powers of the state have grown. That rising affluence must lead to demoncracy has long been a totem in the West; it's alarming to see this assumption come under threat. It's an important story, but it doesn't completely work as a film: our dissidents can do little more than wait in fear, while the bigger picture (China's attempt to rate all citizens for their social compliance, or the growth of surveillence even in supposedly free countries) is hinted at but not systematically disected. I felt I could have learned more in 90 minutes.

No pun intended - this should be shown to some people who think that their government is being unfair to them - who allege they are being silenced (when in reality they are able to say the most outrageous and mostly wrong things). Take a look what happens in China - and you might reconsider what you thought about your own situation.

What we do get here, feels more like a fictional film, though it allegedly is a documentary. Certain things feel staged - other things we do not get enough insight too. We do have a lot of times of waiting - of being unable to look behind the curtain. It would have been nice to get more and deeper perspectives ... that said, it still cuts deep and it still is harrowing to watch ... if you are up for it ...

Portrait of how a state uses technology to control its citizens. Follows three families and their trials. Footage of the children, animals, wives, parents - all give an intimate feel to the movie. It is an 1984 movie - goes beyond Orwell's wildest predictions.

Also, contains government footage of its propaganda to convince people to trust it. There is a natural feel to the film. You feel you are with these families - suffering with them. With the lockdowns and surveillance we experienced during the COVID times in the US, we can see how this type of control erodes the basic freedom of movement.