(SCFF) Film Review #57: 无去来处 I’M SO SORRY [Screening 7 May, 7.30pm]

Heng Wei Li • May 2, 2023

Singapore Chinese Film Festival 2023

Film Review #57: 无去来处 I’M SO SORRY

*This film review may contain plot spoilers, reader discretion is advised.*

*本篇影评含雷，请斟酌阅读。*

Film Still from I'm So Sorry (2021)

When it comes to documentaries that touch on sensitive, socio-political subjects, I try to approach it with a healthy amount of respect for the subject at hand, whilst also balancing that with an objective observation of what it’s trying to say, and how it says it; its intent and its delivery. Much of that will inevitably be affected by how much the documentarian injects themselves into the work, how that extra layer of subjectivity might enhance or detract from its message. I felt as though this must be said before I dive into writing about this documentary proper, as it certainly wears its hard-facing thoughts and opinions on its sleeves.

Film Still from I'm So Sorry (2021)

Prior to going into I’m So Sorry, a brief glimpse of the summary had given me the preconception that this was going to be a documentary that focused on the lingering after effects of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. We instead begin in the infamous Chernobyl, and the director’s true intent slowly unravelled itself for me. The film traces the historical events, present situations and potential futures of nuclear energy through society; specifically, the people and places that have been directly affected by it. A subdued camera allows the film’s striking framing to highlight its message as it lingers on vast mounds of nuclear waste, backed by intimate interviews that linger on their daily lives and worn expressions; an elderly man that still lives in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, or a couple that have been continually displaced ever since Fukushima.

Film Still from I'm So Sorry (2021)

Sewing those threads together cinematically is a Japanese noh figure, occasionally exuding itself through the decay and destruction that nuclear energy had wrought and could wrought, acting as an observer and vessel for nuclear power itself. There is scant narration from the director himself, and when it does appear it is ruminating on the sheer potential of this destructive power, and how much we as a civilization truly understand it. It does not pretend to be anything other than bleak and almost nihilistic, a continuous sinking feeling that strikes the pit of your stomach. It might make one wallow in despair, but I appreciate that it pulls no punches in the themes and notions that it wants to convey.

Film Still from I'm So Sorry (2021)

I’m So Sorry then is less a traditional documentary and more of a tone poem video essay laced with interviews. It is decidedly one sided on its opinions, with scant if any chance of rebuttal given to opposing viewpoints. It is a lament, an apocalyptic warning. Whether or not this strong emphasis on its own message works for or against the film’s favour is a decision that you, the individual viewer, shall have to decide on your own. In my case at least, I found it to be, if nothing else, poignant.

Film Still from I'm So Sorry (2021)

About the Author: Wei Li Heng is an avid lover of uncovering and writing about obscure and underseen Asian cinema. He hopes to discover local cinematic gems and share them to a wider audience.

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This review was written as part of a series of reviews by Heng Wei Li for selected films that will be screened during Singapore Chinese Film Festival 2023.

无去来处 I’m So Sorry screens on 7 May, 7.30pm at Oldham Theatre. Tickets are available here: https://scff2023-imsosorry.peatix.com/

For more info on SCFF 2023, visit the official website: https://www.scff.sg/

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About the Movie:

香港、法国、荷兰 Hong Kong, France, the Netherlands｜2021 | 96 mins | PG
华语、日语、俄语、德语 Mandarin, Japanese, Russian, German
英文字幕 English subtitles
导演 Director: 赵亮 ZHAO Liang

新加坡首映 Singapore Premiere

主演 Cast:

Maria SHOVKUTA, Ivan SEMENYUK, CHALIADZINSKAYA Ina, CHALIADZINSKAYA Lizaveta, Yoshimichi MATSUMOTO, Yoshiko MATSUMOTO, Mizue MORI (Noh)

简介 Synopsis:

这部影片以一个追求人性化全球变化的人为核心，追溯了整个人类社会核灾难的历史事件和现状。他所访问的每一个核设施都代表着一个特定的时间——日本福岛，作为现在；哈萨克斯坦塞米巴拉金斯克，作为隐蔽的过去；切尔诺贝利，乌克兰，作为永远疏远的现在；和芬兰的翁卡洛，作为未来的未来。

通过解构和重建历史而创造的叙述为思考核问题提供了新的空间。在这个空间里，核灾难之后的全球世界末日景观以及人类在这片土地上的日常生活的全景被带入了生活。这部电影，视觉未来派，但接近网络朋克科幻小说，试图创造一个人类寓言在目前。

Anchored by a man whose quest humanises global changes, this film traces the historical events and present situation of nuclear disaster across human society. Every nuclear site he revisits represents a specific temporality – Fukushima, Japan, as the ongoing present; Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, as the concealed past; Chernobyl, Ukraine, as the forever alienated present, and Onkalo, Finland, as the future of the future.

The narrative created through deconstruction and reconstruction of histories provides a new space to reflect on nuclear issues. In this space, a panorama of global apocalyptic landscapes after nuclear disaster as well as the daily lives of humans on these land is brought to life. The film, visually futuristic yet close to cyberpunk science fiction, seeks to create a human allegory in the present.

奖项 Awards:

第26届釜山国际电影节釜山影迷奖
The 26th Busan International Film Festival Busan Cinephile Award