One Child Nation

In a very full and riveting 85 minutes, One Child Nation assembles a huge story together from many small, crucial pieces.

This is a documentary that is very difficult to stomach.

One Child Nation is an utterly compelling documentary that examines the consequences of this staunchly enforced ‘social experiment’. If it stops short of making an explicit political statement, a series of powerful testimonies leaves a harrowing micro-level impression.

What it lacks in formal finesse or educational scope, the film more than compensates as a taut illustration of the profound disconnect between high-level social engineering and the lived social realities that totalitarian policies entail. It’s quiet, feminist rage against Big Brother.

Shocking as it may be, One Child Nation needs to be seen. It’s a document that deepens our understanding of the totalitarian state that China was, not that long ago, of the enormity of the inhumanity that the central government visited on its most vulnerable citizens.

Wang and Zhang's film ends with an explication of a new “two child” policy, a celebration of the one-child-policy’s overall success. The propaganda for his policy is as cheesy as that for the old one. A sense of dread as to how this policy will be enacted intermingles with a strange feeling that a true reckoning with the old way is still very far off.

The revelations and images contained within are individually resonant and telling of a wider picture, but there’s a sense that Wang, or perhaps her financiers, are cautious of pushing too far. Unfortunately, this winds up leaving One Child Nation a muddle of confused half-messages which reach for and fall slightly short of an admirable goal.

A knockout of a historical doc. One of the most scaring stories you will learn about humanity. Everyone left the screening speechless and crying and you won't be an exception.

An insightful, sometimes-gruesome, often-appalling look at China's failed one child only policy and all of the unexpected fallout to come from it. The film details the horrendous emotional damage inflicted upon all those the policy touched, as well as the negative social implications that arose from it both at present and for the future. A potent cautionary tale for anyone -- or any society -- contemplating wide-scale social engineering with no foresight for the consequences.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Somewhat interesting content but artistically limp. It would be nice if they could find a stronger balance.

Wang brilliantly plays to her audience by once again wagging her finger at China to the delight of Anglo-Americans. In the purest form of cinema entertainment, she invites you to forget about the problems in your local government and feel superior to the "backwards" policies in China. A feel-good event.