Dong

2006

1h 6m

Drama

List

60%

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

45%

Audience Score

100+ Ratings

Liu Xiaodong paints shirtless workers deconstructing a city and prostitutes in Bangkok.

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Stephanie Zacharek

Salon.com

Dong, at just 66 minutes, is filmmaking that feels expansive and compact at once. And it makes just a half-day of moviegoing feel incomparably rich.

Sep 20, 2006

Full Review

Jay Weissberg

Variety

Too slight to make an impact.

Sep 12, 2006

Full Review

David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

This combination of humanism and social resignation is hardly unknown in today's art world or cinema, but it has rarely been spelled out so succinctly.

Feb 14, 2021

Full Review

Soham Gadre

Film Inquiry

A fantastic documentary about the conflation of 'art' and 'labor'.

Nov 5, 2020

Full Review

Jeffrey Chen

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Shows the similar mindsets of artists who would travel to less familiar spaces in search of their next muse.

Rated: 7/10

Jun 16, 2010

Full Review

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Audience Member

good doc and companion piece to 'still life'

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

(***): Thumbs Up An interesting documentary.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

A film that truly graps what the creative process of an artist is. This is a film that is incredibly heartbreaking at times, exploring the very concept of what makes us human. Its a tad slow at times, but through Liu Xiao-dong we really get a glimpse into the process of a true artist. Zhag Ke Jia is really one of the most talent contemporary filmmakers out there.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Excellent documentary, following Liu during the painting of two multi-paned murals. Jia gives us little in the way of narration, and the editing is largely elliptical, leaving much of the narrative shrouded in mystery. Beautiful visuals, as usual, and he makes interesting use of direct parallels and contrasts throughout the film, not to mention inserting a few shots from his feature, Still Life.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

More than just a companion piece to "Still Life," this short documentary goes well beyond its apparent subject--two paintings by Liu Xiaodong--to meditate on the humanistic responsibilities of artistic representation. Subtle and breathtaking.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Restrained, observational and subtle documentary of an artist painting two new pieces. Zhang Ke Jia's slight camera explores the living breathing life of the models within each painting and the internal struggles of an artists continual urge to be creative. When the quality and importance of art is so subjective and fluid, by what measure does an artist assess his/her creative worth?

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

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Zhang-Ke Jia

Director

Zhang-Ke Jia

Screenwriter

Keung Chow

Producer

Bo Dan

Co-Producer

Lim Giong

Original Music

Zhang-Ke Jia

Cinematographer

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Synopsis

Liu Xiaodong paints shirtless workers deconstructing a city and prostitutes in Bangkok.

Director: Zhang-Ke Jia
Screenwriter: Zhang-Ke Jia
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Runtime: 1h 6m