A River Runs, Turns, Erases, Replaces

Shengze Zhu, USA 2021, 87 Minuten, OmeU

Bridges are built. Bridges are maintained. Buildings get demolished. Buildings are erected. People gather on the shore. People watch a light show from the shore. Wastelands change. Wastelands get new neighborhoods. In long and observational shots, the director Shengze Zhu films the city Wuhan, located in the central Chinese province of Hubei, through which the Yangtze river flows. Slowly, the images tell of a rapid urban development and the social changes that come with it. In four letters, that are inserted by subtitles, relatives establish contact with their ceased partners and family members. The loss and the remembrance of a common everyday life become a city. In the contemplative effect of observing and listening, spaces of reflection and emotionality are opened. It is not a film about the before, the present or the after of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, but a film about time as such. The time a person spends swimming on the spot in a river. The time in 87 minutes.