19. UNDER|DOX 10-16 OKT

Wang Xilin, 86, is one of China’s most important modern classical composers. The film exhibits the body and soul of a man scarred by a life of suffering, a ”man in black” who is yet still capable of deep and sincere compassion. With excerpts from his symphonies, he
revisits some of the horrifying events that still live on in his memory, as
testimony to an era that saw the dehumanization of the Chinese nation.

The only way the Chinese party can think of to punish those who think differently is to destroy their body. Destroying bodies is political punishment par excellence. This leaves psychological scars, but it’s always the body that takes the first hit. So I wanted to show the body that had endured all this. I wanted people to see clearly and explicitly what he had suffered. After all, when all is said and done, what else is left but the flesh? – Wang Bing