Early on in the Danish documentary AI WEIWEI: THE FAKE CASE, we see our hero at home taking his son Ai Lao out to the garden. Ai Lao proclaims his concern over the dog that lives there, which could bite him. “We are not afraid,” says his father who calls the dog (all wags and licks) over to the gate. “Don’t be afraid. The dog won’t bite.” Taking his son by the hand they proceed in. “The dog won’t bite me? No no.” That scene stuck with me throughout the film. Much as I love dogs, I know that they are only sweet when they’ve surrendered authority. For them, there is no such thing as equality. Every other creature is ‘greater than’ or ‘less than’ itself, a state which, if undetermined, can flip the switch to vicious. Like all children, Ai Lao understands this ‘law of the jungle’ by instinct and so, naturally, is cautious about the dog. Meditate on that.
(Image: International Film Circuit, Inc.)
I love Danish documentaries almost as much as I love Danes (see Mads Brügger’s The Red Chapel or The Ambassador for some good examples). There is a courageous ‘can-do’ attitude in that culture which persists from Viking days of yore. Perhaps this accounts for how veteran Danish documentarian Andreas Johnsen managed to get exclusive access into the life of Chinese artist and international bad boy Ai Weiwei during his year-long parole following an 81-day political imprisonment. Sure, lots of the time he is filming Ai napping here and thereabouts. It seems to be easier for him to sleep when he is watched over. At one point he notes that, following his ordeal, he sleeps little and suffers bad dreams. Indeed Ai is very often in front of cameras; press, friends, his own phone-cam. He even establishes a 24-hr self-surveillance website so that, not only the secret service need watch him day and night, but also the whole world. He has nothing to hide. Who hides in this film are the police, confronted by phone-camera-wielding Ai Weiwei. You see Lao, you must walk ‘toward’ the dog.
(Image: International Film Circuit, Inc.)
AW:TFC illuminates human nature in a poetic way. We see paper airplanes of currency swarm into Ai’s garden when word gets out that the state demands a $1.5 million fee in order to process his court case. Without doubt, there is a cult of personality that surrounds Ai at home and abroad. His lawyer (the one who refused to be cowed by threats that is) sums up the court’s response to their suit, essentially, “Fuck you”. This after receiving the exorbitant fee. Coincidentally, this is a favorite phrase of the Ai household, which appears in neon lights mounted upon his garden wall.
Ai Weiwei films director Andreas Johnsen on his camera phone. (Image: International Film Circuit, Inc.)
Throughout the parole period, Mr. Ai continues to recover his health and courage while collaborating actively with fellow artists and the art world generally. We see the works of friends, produced to protest his arrest. An ashtray used by state agents on surveillance is sent as a ‘ready-made’ to an art show abroad. He develops an elaborate sculptural installation S.A.C.R.E.D for the Venice Biennial that illustrates scenes from his imprisonment. You might not be able to make it to NYC for the Brooklyn Museum’s summer exhibition: ‘Ai Weiwei: According To What?’, but you can certainly catch an interesting glimpse into his life by taking in AI WEIWEI: THE FAKE CASE.
AI WEIWEI: THE FAKE CASE (2013) [86 min]
DIR. ANDREAS JOHNSEN
7/4 – 7/10 – Various Times
$9 – 11
Kendall Square Cinema
355 Binney Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
