BRIEF HISTORY OF A FAMILY dir. Lin Jianjie
by Morgan Stone & Sienna Axe
1/25/24 @ 5:30pm, Redstone Cinema 1
A middle-class family’s fate becomes intertwined with their only son’s enigmatic new friend in post one-child policy China, putting unspoken secrets, unmet expectations, and untended emotions under the microscope.
(Via Sundance)
Morgan: I can’t even begin to describe what an incredible viewing experience watching Brief History of a Family was. This film is Lin Jianjie’s feature debut, and I would not have guessed it.
To start, this may be my favorite film-making that I’ve seen at Sundance this year. The composition of each shot was so incredibly precise, and so much of the imagery was stunning. There’s a continuing motif where it shows close-ups of blood and other organisms under a microscope to juxtapose with the family, which just was brilliant. The film is perfectly tense, with the drastically different soundtracks accompanying each character. The sound design aids this tension as, despite much of the camera work being pulled back, the sound places you just inches from the characters.
This film was a short yet intense look into the inner workings of a family in the newly cemented middle class. There is a lot of commentary about China in a post-one-child policy world, just under the surface of the film.
What makes this film so intriguing to me is that during the Q&A, Jianjie Lin shared that he didn’t want to rely too much on influences when shooting the film, but rather wanted to work with the cinematographer (Jiahao Zhang) to feel the mood of set and create what felt right. This statement alone boggles my mind, because everything about it looked so incredibly precise. It is a testament to the talent of the team to make this serendipity look as precise as a Wes Anderson film. I think that Zhang may be my new favorite cinematographer, and I look forward to seeing more work.
Many people have also made the connection between Brief History of a Family and the recent 2023 release Saltburn dir. Emerald Fennell, as they have a somewhat similar story. They both are incredibly tense stories that talk about class and include a character’s desire to become part of someone else’s life through whatever means necessary, but I feel that Brief History of a Family tells a story that is layered and interesting. Not to put down Saltburn, but if you want an interesting foray into class and a deep examination of a family’s life, I recommend seeing this film over it.
Lin Jianjie’s directorial debut is a fantastic feat. Brief History of a Family is intense, polished, and intriguing: it’s not a film that I will be forgetting any time soon.
Sienna: Brief History of a Family is a chilling exploration of the lengths we go to improve ourselves. Dealing with broad issues of class, as well as more specific ones like the aftermath of China’s one-child policy, it forces you to watch as teenager Yan Shuo (Xilun Sun) slowly replaces classmate Tu Wei (Muran Lin) in his own family. After the screening, director Lin said that his intention was to look deeper into the image of a “happy family;” the film reflects this visually through several shots taken through the lens of a microscope. Oftentimes, these will then cut directly to shots of the family itself, parallelling the cells we’ve just seen.
It’s a very slow, meditative film. Jiahao Zhang’s cinematography lingers in the muted blues and yellows of urban nighttime. The score and sound design are both very good and very specific to the film’s tone; thrumming, electronic sounds both build tension and keep you hypnotized. Several shots, especially of Yan Shuo, show him directly from behind; this both gives him a sort of video-game-esque audience-insert quality and leaves him a completely blank slate, allowing you to project all of your thoughts (and fears) onto him.
I’m not quite sure what to make of the ending. I think I entered the movie seeking an eventual explosion—or at least some form of catharsis—but I don’t think the lack of it is necessarily a misstep on the part of the film. I was very impressed by this, especially for it being a debut feature, and I look forward to seeing what Lin does in the future.
