Sundance 2022 Review - 'The Exiles' (2022)

“The Exiles” is a documentary that starts as a celebration of the incredible trajectory of documentarian Christine Choy until it evolves into a different kind of narrative about the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989. Both subject matters are interesting and relevant, but each deserves its own film.

An Often Controversial Documentarian; but History Matters

Christine Choy is a renowned documentarian that describes herself as an unconventional thinker, filmmaker, and professor. The first 15 minutes of the documentary attempts to do a summary and a genuine description of who Choy is as a filmmaker. Among her successes, there is an Academy Award nomination for her film “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” She has a great commitment to expose injustices and support social causes.

Choy’s work has been described as confrontational and often deals with political issues. After the Tiananmen Square massacre, she started recording interviews and press conferences with some leaders who managed to escape the Chinese government and relocated to the United States. After a while, she had tons of footage, but the project was never completed because she lacked funds. “The Exiles” ends up being an attempt to reconnect with that material and reflect on what has happened during the last 30 years.

A Demonstration that Led to a Massacre

To put into context, the incident in Tiananmen Square started as a student-led protest. They were demanding freedom of press, speech, and even their education. Subsequently, the demonstrations grew bigger, and the government started to feel threatened. On June 4^,1989, the lights on Tiananmen Square went off. The military stormed the place and started shooting. To this day, there’s no official estimate of how many people were killed that day. The survivors were persecuted by the government and forced to live in exile.

After decades, Choy realized in one of her trips that kids don’t know about what happened in Tiananmen Square.”

Christine Choy focused her project on the following three exiles: Wu’er Kaixi, a student and activist; Yan Jiaqui, a political scientist that was an advisor for the government; and Wan Runnan, a businessman who founded the largest private company in China at the time. After decades, Choy realized in one of her trips that kids don’t know about what happened in Tiananmen Square. She expresses outrage that there weren’t any real consequences, just silence. The documentary then focuses on her encounters with the three exiles she interviewed decades before. In those encounters, the film provides a contrast between how these people felt back then and now.

Christine Choy appears in “The Exiles.” (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute).

Tiananmen Square ‘Happened;’ and Christine Choy Wants that Remembered

The footage and interviews made after they were exiled to the United States reflect their confidence and hope that China was just starting to change. There was no doubt the government would have to pay for their human rights violations. Yet, decades later, nothing has happened still. This documentary succeeds when it manages to capture the sense of hopelessness and betrayal. During a celebration of the 30^th anniversary of the massacre, one of the exiles exclaims, “we were betrayed.” He and many others questioned the reaction of the United States—how they were forgotten because the entire world was convinced that nothing happened.

As a whole, “The Exiles” tries to be two things simultaneously. The moments with Christine Choy are funny and insightful of who she is as an artist and human being. Still, the moments with the exiles remind the viewer of a moment in history that not many people acknowledge. “The Tank Man” is probably one the most known images in history; a man stood in front of several tanks to stop them from going forward. That image proves that the Tiananmen Square massacre happened. Most people know about it, but decide to ignore it. It’s curious if “The Exiles” will have any repercussions in China, but at the very least, it accomplishes its mission to make us remember. As Choy said at one point, “History is history. Fact is fact”.