CathayPlay Short Film Review: Dissociated State by Punk Zhang

“Working in a factory is not for girls”

Independent film punk Zhang, also known as Peng Zhang, is a film director, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, an MFA, and is also a sociological researcher and visual artist. His work “Disassociation” has received the “Zhang Xianmin Top 10 Recommendations – 3” award and special recognition at the Chongqing Youth Film Festival. He is a pioneer in the self-media film industry, as well as one of the initiators of the proletarian film movement. As the founder of the Proletariat Film Club (PFC), his experimental proletarian films on self-media platforms have gained a considerable audience. “Dissociated State” is a student film project from the School of Film at Chongqing University.

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Liang Guo is a subculture youth who is quite artistic, but she couldn’t get into university and doesn’t want to study. She only wants to hang out with her friend Hu Chuan Chun and deal with her art, which is the reason she could not get into higher education as her mother wanted. Her mother loves her but she does not understand her, which is why she pressures her to work in a factory. Guo perceives her attitude as tough love, and is in desperate need of understanding, but she cannot find her from her mother. Eventually, both friends are forced to work in a factory.

Punk Zhang directs a film that takes an intense arthouse approach towards its narrative, including elements of family drama and road trip, as much as intertitles, which are implemented to showcase her inner thoughts. The meticulous framing and the quality of compositions are definitely the highlight, with both the close ups and the long shots being impressive to watch, additionally for the placement of the actors in them.

Context-wise, the movie unfolds in two axes. The first is the relationship of Liang Guo and her mother, with the tension among them being palpable, also highlighting the difference of the two generations. Evidently, for the mother, dealing with art is just a hobby, which is why she pushes her daughter to get a job in a factory, essentially forcing her out of the house. The scene where Liang Guo hugs her and is pushed away is a highlight of the movie and also quite indicative of their relationship.

The second axis is the setting the two protagonists inhabit, where being forced to do manual work, essentially in order to be a “productive” member of society, is the rule. The way the protagonist refers to her upcoming job, “working in a factory is not for girls” also hints at the situation in similar workplaces. At the same time, and in the way their whole path towards the factory looks like a funeral procession of sorts, as the descent into hades one could say, stresses this fact even more.

The acting follows the same arthouse approach with the narrative, with very few lines here and there, and the mother being the one that does the most talking. This aspect highlights the protagonist’s mentality, who is anything but social and also functions as a metaphor for youths not having a voice in capitalist China, which is essentially the main message of the movie. The editing results in a relatively slow pace, which connects the vignette-type of sequences in fitting fashion. The use of music borders on the pretentious on occasion, and could have been handled better on occasion.

Exclusively addressed to arthouse fans, “”Dissociated State” is a well-constructed film that manages to communicate its messages eloquently, and one that is definitely on a much higher level than the usual student film.