Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012)
Average Rating: 8/10
Reviews Counted: 76
Fresh: 74 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 8/10
Critic Reviews: 28
Fresh: 26 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
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Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 4,349
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Movie Info
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is the first feature-length film about the internationally renowned Chinese artist and activist, Ai Weiwei. In recent years, Ai has garnered international attention as much for his ambitious artwork as his political provocations. From 2008 to 2010, Beijing-based journalist and filmmaker Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to Ai Weiwei. Klayman documented Ai's artistic process in preparation for major museum exhibitions, his intimate exchanges with family members and
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All Critics (81) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (74) | Rotten (2) | DVD (1)
A fascinating portrait of a modern artist and activist trying to make a difference within China's repressive political system.
Top CriticThe film's recurring theme is of an artist on a perpetual hunt for transparency, in his country and abroad.
A movie that somehow mixes apprehension for Ai with a feeling of warmth and, certainly, fun.
Affable and unpretentious, Ai comes across as a cagey operator whose candor is very appealing.
It's likely to change the way you think about art and politics and the state of China today.
Using archival footage dating back to Ai's adventures in the New York art world in his 20s, Klayman traces his evolution as a creator and as an activist.
To say Ai Weiwei is an interesting character is an understatement. He is an unconventional social activist and a thorn in the side of the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party.
Ai Weiwei is such a laid back, calm and yet mischievous spirit that the film takes on a whole different, almost joyous tone.
The film is about the power and limits of art.
Klayman never demonizes the authoritarian Chinese government, as her purpose seems to be to show how difficult it is to be a rebel in such a closed society as China.
A compelling documentary that explodes proper and stuffy notions of what a foreign intellectual dissident looks and sounds like.
The struggle for free speech in China is given sharp, sobering, disturbing voice through the struggles of cutting edge, digitally savvy, Twitter-loving artist Ai Weiwei.
Alison Klayman's remarkable film about China's leading 'digital dissident' fully illustrates the talents of a man who often does the opposite of what you'd expect.
... straightforward, entertaining and provocative documentary about the titular Chinese artist
Even if you don't like documentaries as a rule, I'm betting you'll like Ai Weiwei himself so much that you'll be glad you took the time to get to know him through this film.
Klayman deserves a lot of credit for being in the right place at the right time with the right person. Ai is a treat to follow around, and his courage is clearly more than a pose.
An unprecedented inside look at Chinese politics and a fascinating tour of modern art at the same time.
Audience Reviews for Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
Super Reviewer
Ai Weiwei's activism hit a critical point when he criticized the treatment of the poor during the 2008 Olympics and the response to the Sichuan earthquake which killed several thousand children in faulty construction that has been compared to tofu. As New Yorker magazine correspondent Evan Osnos points out, Ai Weiwei was initially inspired politically by the Iran Contra hearings when he was living in the United States that sought to hold a government responsible but did not work as well as some of us would have liked. So, instead of the fortune his son would inherit, he will have something much more precious to leave him.
Now, if I can only figure out if the cat opening the door is supposed to be a metaphor or just darn cute.
Super Reviewer
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Latest News on Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
July 26, 2012:
Critics Consensus: The Watch Falls Down On the JobThis week at the movies, we've got amateur crime fighters (The Watch, starring Ben Stiller and Vince...
July 26, 2012:
Alison Klayman Talks Ai Weiwei: Never SorryThe director discusses her new documentary, opening in limited release this weekend.
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