I have never seen a Gil Kofman movie before, and I thought that this was going to be an academic look at Chinese censorship: it’s not.
UNMADE IN CHINA follows director Kofman as he attempts to make the thriller CASE SENSITIVE, but due to many production and translation problems, the project becomes harder than he expects. This film is pure genius, with a comedic sense similar to that of THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED and, while it was not the educated look at Chinese censorship I anticipated, it was a hysterical look at a botched production.
I can say that without a doubt that this was one of the funniest movies of the past 5 years: Kofman’s throbbing forehead vein as the pressure mounts, and the awfully dressed fashion designer had me and the rest of the audience in hysterics. A lot of the conversations between the production team range from brilliant immaturity to fantastic wit. Gil himself, who is also a playwright and photographer, was a very likable and engaging screen presence and as the film progressed I really started to get behind him. The others who were involved in the production were also entertaining to watch – but for many of these, it was for far different, sometimes darker, reasons.
I can guess that this will be one of my favourites of the entire film festival, Unmade In China is bursting with character, charm and an unmatched wit – it’s a must see.
– Rory Greener