• Release year: 2024
• Director: Ye Lou.
• Producers: Philippe Bober and Yingli Ma.
• Screenplay by: Ye Lou and Yingli Ma.
• Cinematography by: Chen Kai, Li Peng, Jian Zeng, and Florian Zinke.

Shotgun Commentary: one of the most thrilling, stressful, heartbreaking and gorgeous mockumentaries ever made.

Review

An Unfinished Film is a mockumentary so good it will make you wonder whether it is actually fiction or not. It combines real footage of the pandemic with a fictional story of a film crew. They are abruptly halted mid-production due to the COVID outburst and its subsequent regulations.

Getting your heart racing

Although the film is shot from the point of view of an invisible crew member that catches bits and bobs of the project, you soon find out that the actual protagonist of the story is the actor who plays the protagonist in the film they are trying to finish. This is confirmed after he is confined in his hotel room. After what are easily the most stressful twenty minutes in the history of cinema.

Remember the aeroplane scene in World War Z (2013)? It doesn’t even come close to the anxiety you will feel watching this lovable crew of artists discover that they cannot leave the hotel and go to their families to be confined together.

This first act is specially overwhelming to watch having the hindsight of what transpired. However, this futuristic point of view that the audience has is not only great to create more tension. It is also perfect for ironic humour. The kind you have as an experienced survivor watching the newbies react to the breakout.

A mirror into the past

You may or may not remember, but many of us didn’t think the virus would spread to the whole world. Or, at least, that it would cause the devastation it did. Used to small epidemics that wouldn’t go further than one country or maybe cause less than ten casualties in whatever countries it gets spread, this situation was unfathomable for many.

Naturally, now we know better, which causes us to involuntarily chuckle at many of the characters’ statements and decisions. Not because they are wrong, but because we were them at one point or another.

These moments of recognition provide the only respire you can find during the first act. One that ends masterfully with one of the most amusing moments in the whole feature: the protagonist’s reaction to knowing he’s been in contact with a man sick with COVID. It might not sound like an inherently funny situation, but believe you me, the nervous laughs are heard throughout the cinema. Whether it is due to amusement or because you need to let go of the adrenaline to survive the rest of the film, that is another story.

Alone together

The second act is more focused on isolation and community. The camaraderie between all members of the crew that have been confined is the only thing keeping them sane. Despite the format being mostly hand-held camera, the actual cameraman is never a part of the story, so the man is virtually alone in his room. They have video calls often to share whatever news they have received and some random thoughts. This is a situation we can all connect with. Even the most introverted of us felt good hearing the voice of another human being from time to time at a moment when the only faces you could see were on TV or socials.

As far as COVID-themed works go, this is by far the best that has been done so far. It brings the painful reminder of confusion, loss, and isolation along with those small moments where humanity shined bright. The little gestures all around the world of people trying to make other’s experience a little better. It salutes all the medical professionals and their tireless work to keep us safe through the worst of the pandemic, and remembers all those who were lost to it.

All in all, An Unfinished Film is a flawless depiction of all the good and the bad that came out of an unthinkable crisis that, for a little while, forced us to remember that despite the prejudice and hate, we are, above all, one race: the human race.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Never underestimate an outbreak.
• Follow the regulations as thoroughly as possible, especially if it is not just your life on the line.
• The face mask is supposed to cover your mouth AND YOUR NOSE.

What’s your take? Have you watched An Unfinished Film? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀