People’s Park
Jun 25, 2013
(JP Sniadecki and Libbie Cohn, 2012, China, Blu-ray, 78 min)
The thrill of the unexpected runs through all 78 minutes of this single-take journey through a Chinese city park, a panoramic celebration of urban diversity that reveals as many different attitudes about the camera as it does people. Friends, families, artists, dancers and even opera singers: the space they share is their only common feature at times, as the film imperceptibly compiles a portrait of energy. People's Park's secret genius lies in paying equal attention to each of its subjects, returning to the forgotten attitudes of medieval landscape paintings: that a view of a crowd, rather than blurring the distinctions between people, can reveal more than the sum of its parts. A lyrical hour or so spent with people out in the fresh air on a beautiful Sichuan afternoon, People’s Park is a heartwarming reminder of the value of human interaction, no matter who you are or where you find yourself. To quote Jo Carol Pierce, “Friends are great, but for a truly interesting life you must have strangers.”
>> This film is part of our new documentary series N-E-X D-O-C-S: you can buy a series pass and see all of the films in N-E-X D-O-C-S at a discount! $35/Film Forum Members, $55/General