This documentary's ground-level look at persistent government suppression of protests and activism in China is truly nightmarish. A small band of people are concerned that corruption has allowed a school principal to rape underage girls with impunity, but the price for speaking out about the crime—even minimally—is sometimes violent harassment by police and plainclothes security alike in city after city. Filmed, sometimes clandestinely but more often at personal risk, by Nanfu Wang, the documentary follows the efforts of rights advocate Ye Haiyan (aka Hooligan Sparrow, whose past as a sex worker trying to bring attention to the spread of AIDS has made her a media darling) to lead hit-and-run protests on city streets, moving on before the cops or thugs arrive. But the net drops very soon anyway, as Ye and the others find themselves chased, beaten, threatened in their own homes, and forced out of every town that they arrive in by train. A number of these confrontational, brutal moments are downright Kafkaesque and scary, underscoring the fact that China's government can get the word out at once to an enormous security apparatus in order to stop dissenters. In the thick of danger, Wang carries on recording what she can, even if that means letting her camera dangle upside down. A terrifying, disheartening, and eye-opening film, this is highly recommended. (T. Keogh)
Hooligan Sparrow
Kino <span class=SpellE>Lorber</span>, 84 min., in English & Mandarin w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95, Dec. 13 Volume 32, Issue 2
Hooligan Sparrow
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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