Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

Name: Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
Genre: Documentary
Released: July 27, 2012
Duration: 91 min
Rating: 81
Cast: Ai Weiwei

2012

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Universal acclaim based on 28 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Ratings

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7.8

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7.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Ratings

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Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

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Movie Details & Credits

Sundance Selects | Release Date: July 27, 2012 | R

Starring: Ai Weiwei

Summary: Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is the first feature-length film about the internationally renowned Chinese artist and activist, Ai Weiwei. In recent years, Ai has garnered international attention as much for his ambitious artwork as his political provocations. AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY examines this complex intersection of artistic practice and socialAi Weiwei: Never Sorry is the first feature-length film about the internationally renowned Chinese artist and activist, Ai Weiwei. In recent years, Ai has garnered international attention as much for his ambitious artwork as his political provocations. AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY examines this complex intersection of artistic practice and social activism as seen through the life and art of China’s preeminent contemporary artist. (Sundance Selects)… Expand

Director: Alison Klayman

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: R

Runtime: 91 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Ty Burr

Aug 2, 2012

Alison Klayman's documentary is one of the most engagingly powerful movies of the year almost completely on the strength of Ai's rumpled charisma and the confusion it creates in the bureaucratic mindset of the Chinese Communist Party. Read full review

Manohla Dargis

Jul 26, 2012

The fluidity and convenience of digital moviemaking tools explain some of its freshness, as does Ms. Klayman's history as a budding documentarian. It's clear from watching both the feature and its earlier iterations that, while she was learning about Mr. Ai, she was also learning how to tell a visual story. It's easy to think that hanging around Mr. Ai, a brilliant Conceptual artist and an equally great mass-media interpolater, played a part in her education. Read full review

Kerry Lengel

Aug 9, 2012

The metaphor is plain yet elegant: Ai is the clever cat busily devising ways to push through the barriers physical, cultural, mental -- that make humans less than free. And in China, of course, the biggest of those barriers is the one-party state. Read full review

Boxoffice Magazine Sara Maria Vizcarrondo

Jul 28, 2012

Journalist and director Allison Klayman doesn't mask her awe of the man, who comes off as a cross between a wise Buddha-figure and Santa Claus - he's made for history, and he's making it. Read full review

Staff (Not credited)

Aug 8, 2012

The documentary is as much a rallying cry for freedom of expression as it is a portrait in progress of an artist whose career is ongoing. Though we might wish for more insight or explanation, Klayman's film remains an incredible document of a courageous individual who the Chinese officials would prefer to make disappear. Read full review

V.A. Musetto

Jul 27, 2012

Ai is his country's most celebrated avant-garde artist - he's had shows around the world, including in New York, where he lived as a student - and China's most outspoken dissident. Read full review

Peter Debruge

Jul 23, 2012

The film is a good start, but such an important artist deserves a more rigorous portrait. Read full review

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User Reviews

SomePersona

Feb 14, 2017

The direction, cinematography, music, and editing in this movie are very boring, cliché, and clearly uninspired. However, like a lot of these types of documentaries, what they are shooting and recording just happens to be incredibly interesting and, in contrast to the style of theThe direction, cinematography, music, and editing in this movie are very boring, cliché, and clearly uninspired. However, like a lot of these types of documentaries, what they are shooting and recording just happens to be incredibly interesting and, in contrast to the style of the documentary, inspiring.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Bestpony

Jan 1, 2013

It's a pretty standard documentary that gives you all the necessary information about Weiwei's past, why he's important, what his methods are, how he functions in China, and so on. But that's all you get here: facts, explanations and the artist's inscrutable, bearded face. At one point weIt's a pretty standard documentary that gives you all the necessary information about Weiwei's past, why he's important, what his methods are, how he functions in China, and so on. But that's all you get here: facts, explanations and the artist's inscrutable, bearded face. At one point we learn that even though Weiwei is married, he has a son with another woman. "It happens," he explains reluctantly. We never get to hear the women talk about that. The film always maintains a respectful distance from its subject, and while it tells a story that absolutely had to be told, this neutral style makes the experience much less engaging than it could have been.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

lasttimeisaw

Nov 20, 2012

Ai Weiwei is an internationally acclaimed Chinese artist-activist who is provocatively condemning his motherland government for grave social underbellies (in light of an unbalanced economy acceleration) as corruption nonfeasance and misfeasance among officials, systematic injustice, moralAi Weiwei is an internationally acclaimed Chinese artist-activist who is provocatively condemning his motherland government for grave social underbellies (in light of an unbalanced economy acceleration) as corruption nonfeasance and misfeasance among officials, systematic injustice, moral languor and freedom repression (a focal point is the aftermath of Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, whose casualties are over 80,000, among which are many children stayed inside shoddily-built school buildings) and valiantly spearheading (not the least in the artist field) a new wave of self-awakening among his fellow compatriots, which has promptly wrought government… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

RobertBrogan

Sep 27, 2015

Never Sorry is not bad as a documentary, but it seems to be more about showcasing the persona of Ai Wei Wei than it is informative about his art or the issues. If you have heard about this man in the news and want to know more about the controversy, then this is an interesting view, though INever Sorry is not bad as a documentary, but it seems to be more about showcasing the persona of Ai Wei Wei than it is informative about his art or the issues. If you have heard about this man in the news and want to know more about the controversy, then this is an interesting view, though I would not say it is compelling. Fans of the reality TV style of documentary should enjoy it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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