Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, which follows the internationally renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei through some of the most turbulent years of his career, is a thoughtful and inspiring introduction to the serenely charismatic troublemaker. First-time director Alison Klayman briskly explores how Weiwei's optimistic opposition, which has come to rely heavily on blogs, Twitter, and his legions of followers, is fueled by his core belief that freedom of expression is the most important ideal a country can aspire to. His commitment to transparency is risky; he tweets pictures of his recovery from brain surgery following a beating by Chinese police and solicits volunteers for a project documenting the student victims of the horrific 2008 Sichuan earthquake, and Klayman and her crew are close enough to the unflappable artist to capture the systematic harassment that follows him. Though interviews with museum curators, gallerists, and fellow artists occasionally turn the film into an overview of the underground Chinese art scene of the ‘80s and ‘90s, the shift from the personal to the public mirrors the trajectory of Weiwei's work by showing how the lauded artist is simply one small part of a larger, more important whole. It's an effective, emotional look at how one man's pursuit of an open dialogue with his oppressive country has turned into a global crusade.