Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

Ai Weiwei isn’t just a hilarious name to say to any Englishman but also a name associated with freedom of speech in modern day China. An artist by trade, Mr Weiwei is now more (in)famous for saying ‘fuck you’ to the Chinese Government than putting any brush strokes to canvas.

‘Never Sorry’ is the documentary from debut director Alison Klayman resulting from her four years following China’s most famous artist as he travels around China and the world causing further and further headaches for local police and the Chinese Government. Concentrating as much on political acts than artistic ones, the film shows the importance of Twitter and social media in a country such as China, showing as many of his status updates throughout the film as Richard Herring will commit in a 90 minute period.  

The balance between politics and art is well maintained throughout, reminding that he has actually done some good works over the years - as well as breaking some old pots - while showing the political motivations in his work through interviews with various peers and colleagues over the last three decades.

But saying ‘fuck you’ and breaking some vase-thing doesn’t come without its fair share of problems. Various confrontations with police, sometimes violent, are shown, as well as his non-mysterious disappearance in 2011 and the momentary stem in the flow of his freedom of speech. The documentary is more about freedom of speech than a biopic of an artist, using him as an example of the impact of social networking, as well as what happens when the rules are broken.

There are some weak points, such as the mystery around his son with a woman that isn’t his wife – a topic that his wife is not questioned on and which he is coy – that is only mentioned and not explored; and his confrontation with police while sticking cameras in their faces probably provokes a response from law enforcement that would be met in most nations in the world.    

As noted, the fact that someone like Ai Weiwei exists shows that there has been some change in China over the years, though the fact that his words are met with such strong response from the Government shows that there is still a long way to go before China becomes a nation where people can freely express their opinions to the world on Twitter without fear of arrest and prosecution – unless, of course, you’re a Premiership footballer.