"Dragonfly eyes", by Xu Bing ****

"Dragonfly eyes", by Xu Bing.**** a documentary fiction, using only footage from surveillance camera.
I like this film, a truly remarkable original piece of conceptual art work. 

Its a fiction film composed of real surveillance camera footage, no director, no actor, only montage.
But in some places, I wonder if the poeple in the film are not "acting" for the surveillance camera? We sometimes see this in elevators, kids dancing, kissing in the elevator to amuse, shock the security people for fun. There is a bit of that in this film at certain moments - for example the young people talking about they dont play video games anymore but watch online streaming. It feels like an interview.

One thing I noticed is that the setting is the most realistic I have ever seen in any documentary films. And the people in the film, sometimes its a type of auto documentary telling stories about themselves. The realism of China in this film is devoid of the usual flashy gold and Rolls Royce. It might be the stories of ordinary people.

Anyone with a filming device could also occupy a space in public for telling about their lives.

It is no longer reserved for the ones w a pro camera. People could have a say with what they see how they live, show and tell.

Very unique and powerful documentary. Whatever "fiction" is in the film is not out of the ordinary, it should be more like a sample of a typical story of everyday lives of whats happening. People dont play online games anymore, they are watching "live streaming", and the stories of "stars of the live streaming". Lives are restricted to the real everyday work place and watching online people producing content and interaction possibilities, all online.  Watching a screen is very limited, even though we could all occupy a space and be on screen so to speak, I would not want to reserve all my amusement moments to that.  Too much screen time, movies, online chats, surveillance cameras.  What to do?

As for the other people, the non-surveillance camera related people, for example a family driving out to go fishing for a day. Climbing mountains. Have a meal at the night market, this type of scenarios will not get "surveillance camera" treatment. Where will you know about this then? In online blogs?

The surveillance camera documentary is limited to a general public façade, and the online stars are also showing a public online façade. There are no internal dialogues - thats why the film needs a fictional thread, it enables some internal intentions to be visible.

I like the streetscapes, the settings, we kind of see the real China as anonymously as possible. The scenes we see are views of other people. Created opportunities to watch other people.

There are many interviews of Xu Bing on youtube on his work and about the film.