UFO in My Eyes

This my perspective on Guo XiaoLu's UFO in Her Eyes, a 2011 film based upon her very own book. As I was working behind the scenes at the Terracotta Film Festival this year, I actaully got to meet, and practice chinese with, this remarkable author and director. 

Obviously, Guo Xiaolu was born in China. In the mainland. The motherland. And its themes permeate and influence her work, providing a social commentary of life in the People's Republic. However, due to the nature of her work, it is censored in China; the place that 'feeds' Guo Xiaolu's imagination cannot in return be nourished by her creativity. She said it would be a joy to show her work to her mother, let alone her compatriots. Perhaps it is through the pirate DVD trade that her work will reach the Chinese people.

I have seen many of the mainstream Chinese films that manage reach Western audiences; Hero, Crouching Tiger, The Banquet, The Promise, House of Flying Daggers, Infernal Affairs,  Lust|Caution, and so on. But I have never seen anything like UFO in Her Eyes. You can tell that Guo was originally an athour before becoming a director; there is a purpose and a passion to this work that carries a symbolism I have rarely seen in Cinema. 

It is a social critique wrapped in a love story, tied up with a bow of comedy and put in a gift bag of sci-fi. And it works. What's even more astonishing is that the film only contains three professional actors; the leading Kwok Yun, town Cheif and the American character of Steve Frost. Every other person in this film is untrained, which is incredible considering the numbers that were mobilised for some of the scenes, and the depth of some of the acting. I was particularly moved by the old man who runs the carp pond, a close-up of his face transmitted a real sense of exasperation and sadness. 

Guo has been extremely clever in her making of this film. She managed to parody the modern Chinese desire for development and Westernisation in a way that is comical and yet unnerving. The town chief chops down the tree under which Kwok Yun believed she saw the UFO to turn it into a tourist site, what was once an idyllic countryside village takes on the tacky hallmarks of rapid development. UFO is packed with such poignant moments, equally balanced by humour. My favourite has to be the UFO hotel, and the hideous western suits of the town chiefs secretary.

Guo's work makes circuits around international film festivals, therefore, trying to see it first hand in the cinema is probably not going to happen. However, if you do find such a film festival, buy a ticket for UFO in her eyes. I highly recommend this film if you have an interest in modern China. It has one hand firmly on the Chinese pulse, but is so imaginative that it is unlike any other film from the mainland.