We Went to Wonderland

The old Chinese man has no voice. But he writes notes: “Water is so good in the West.” “Flowers are long dead on Karl Marx’s grave.” “English trains don’t respect people’s time.” “When Picasso died, my daughter was born.” He observes the drifting clouds, his wife looks at the Houses of Parliament. As he wanders in the Vatican, his wife is still praising the English parks. This is the first, and maybe the last time they leave China. He wants to see the whole world before he dies, but her heart longs for home. A Chinese daughter, the director, decides to use a digital stills camera’s movie function to record her old parent’s journey to the West. Shot in black and white with this smallest of equipment, the film achieves exceptional freedom of style and intimacy. Minimalist, with hints of French Nouvelle Vague, integrating stills and quotes, the film portraits a philosophical journey, going through cultural conflicts, love relationship, memories of personal histories, shadows of the turmoil of China’s past, glimpses of the weight of two individuals in a global environment. As ancient Taoist master Lao Tzu said: “The further you go, the less you understand.” This visual poem is like an abstract Chinese ink painting, drawing traces of two people’s interior life.