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This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.
"Novelties are the benchmark of a free society." So says Johnson, a young man who believes his new idea will be the biggest novelty since the dribble glass and fake dog poo. Somewhere in this mess of a movie is an unmade, fascinating documentary about the history of practical joke props and how their manufacture was eventually outsourced to China. Someone else should make that documentary.
Made in China is irritating. Deeply irritating. This movie is more irritating and artificial even than Away We Go, which seems like a piece of neorealism by comparison. It almost completely squanders the goodwill earned from the occasional laugh out loud gag, clever idea or evocative detail by choosing to focus on a protagonist who's such a lunkhead, he makes Forrest Gump look like Slavoj Žižek. Johnson is the kind of guy who replies to a craigslist ad placed by a "Chinese entrepreneur" and wires him money, sight unseen, before jumping on a plane to Shanghai to arrange for a meeting with a textile manufacturer. Within the first twenty minutes you just want to smack him on the side of the head. And it only gets worse.
Perhaps the worst thing about this movie is its fake, completely undeserved happy ending. Johnson is a gullible rube and the filmmakers obviously think that we are too. Unless you like automatically like indie comedies that feature whistling on the soundtrack, Made in China is one to avoid.
Made in China screens October 11 and 13.
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Hi there: My name is Lou Barkan, and I am affiliated with the film. I help the marketing and web site operations for Made in China, and I have a few points about your comments.
First, thank you for the note on subject matter...we do believe that novelties are very fascinating objects deserving of attention. I agree that a focused documentary would also be a great way to treat the subject in addition to our story.
However, as it relates to our film, your criticism rests entirely n the fact that you perceive Johnson to be a "lunkhead". For a film review, I believe this is very unbalanced and not fair, either to us or to your audience who depend on a solid review. Do you react in the same way to any story that features someone who is not smart (as you presumably?).
Johnson may be a "lunkhead", the type that responds to a craigslist ad, and not as smart as you but that's not a reason to trash the film. Since you brought up Forrest Gump, I'll make the point that that story works not for the lead character's smarts, but rather for his heart. And in this way, Made in China and Forrest Gump are very comparable.
Johnson is not without positive character attributes that should balance your condescending and myopic view of him. While he certainly wouldn't know who Slavoj Žižek is (neither did I...I had to look it up and for those who don't know, Slavoj is a pedant/academic who writes about esoteric psychological and philisophical topics...I believe he lectured at U of Chicago for a bit...), he character offers many virtues that are worthy.
He's courageous. With only a dream in his heart and his last dollars in his hand he heads out for a strange land to make his dream a reality. I would think that stands for something. Surely this attribute has value in today's world? I would argue in light of the recent economic downturn, good old fashioned ingenuity and work ethic probably would do more to help our world than raw "smarts."
He's an entrepreneur with "street smarts" and a likable personality. Without question, our world could use more entrepreneurs like this. Real people creating real value. I've been to China and can't imagine doing what he did and going to the places he did without some sort of help. In fact, it would be near impossible to do if you didn't have raw "street smarts," the kind of smarts that don't play nearly as well in cafes and coffee houses as they do on the streets of Shanghai or Shenzen.
I could go on about other positive Johnson character traits, but I'd like to mention something about the production value of the film. The locations we used were absolutely fascinating and anyone who has not been to China but has an interest will absolutely adore the various locales we caught. The music and score of the film are quite solid. Certainly props are a winner in a film about novelties, and without question, Ms. Krant's shooting is quite nice.
And finally, you're right, there are plenty of laugh out loud gags to keep an audience entertained.
For anyone who is interested, please feel free to visit the Made in China site www.micthemovie.com to learn more!