Worth: $17.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Wang Xiaowen, Dong Jiarong, Zhou Jianming
Intro:
… rich with nuance and warmth …
It’s hard not to appreciate the prevalence of Chinese artistic aesthetic on our everyday lives, from subtle carved finishings on furniture to sculptural lanterns lining the streets of the local Chinatown. Even the finely embroidered designs often bastardised by luxury brands can usually be traced back to Chinese techniques.
While the gentrification and industrialisation of China’s creative culture have diluted its appreciation in our everyday lives, the charming new documentary The Magical Craftsmanship of Suzhou looks to remind us of the deep history, struggles – old and new – and passions that have burnt for over 2,000 years amongst the artisans of Suzhou, a city in East China’s Jiangsu Provence that has been celebrated since the Han Dynasty, immortalised by poets and painters, and which continues to keep its traditions alive against the glow of neon tubes humming beneath leviathan skyscrapers gilded by acres of grey glass.
Directed by Sun Zengtian, The Magical Craftsmanship of Suzhou is a gentle exploration of the history and culture of the ancient city, connecting us to the community of artisans that remain active in their respective fields.
From Wang Xiaowen, a master of customary lantern making whose intricate designs and vibrant colours are sought across the nation, to Dong Jiarong, whose career moulding traditional ‘boat snack’ confectionaries has been curbed by hand tremors, and Zhou Jianming who carves delicate, narrative sculptures from the seeds of fruit no larger than an olive, Zengtian’s film is rich with nuance and warmth thanks to the cast of characters, and their unique stories, having spent a life creating art in the fabled alleys and warehouses of Suzhou.
While the artisans profiled in the film lighten the history lesson with humour and empathy, Zengtian doesn’t shy away from the challenges of China’s rampant modernisation, touching on technology’s corrosion of traditional methods and the new demands of shorter timelines and tighter budgets. However, the director never drifts into a fatalist outlook, instead revealing a new wave of collaboration and compromise embraced by the next generation of artisans working alongside, and under the old masters.
As with the love and nuance exhibited with every needle stich, hit of the chisel, stroke of the brush and touch of pen to paper, The Magical Craftsmanship of Suzhou is essentially a cinematic homage to artisans of a city that has managed to retain its irreplaceable soul under the weight of modernisation, and of course the beautiful and eclectic works of art that have captured the imagination Emperors, and which continue to hold the respect of global collectors, young and old.
