“Wuhan Wuhan”, this city name embedded itself into our minds as it countlessly appeared on our screens since news first broke of the fast spreading virus we would come to know as Covid-19. Global media coverage of Wuhan as Covid-19’s ground zero was sensationalizing and filled with fear mongering since their first wave of the pandemic. Bombarded with case numbers and death tolls, the world came to know “Wuhan” as a city suffering from a plague. This dehumanizing news coverage tore away peoples ability to feel a shared likeness to the Wuhan people; empathy for their experience was exchanged for fear of the worlds future. Even in Wuhan’s ability to quickly handle and minimize the virus spread, they became an example; first an example of “what not to do”, then of “what needs to be done”. In Yung Chang’s latest documentary Wuhan, Wuhan the humanity and resilience of those who persevered through the earliest days of the Covid pandemic in Wuhan are finally recognized with reverent sentimentality.
Rather than having facts and statics lead his documentary, Chang instead lets those who are dealing with the pandemic first hand take control of his narrative. Mid-film, a grieving widow pleads for an explanation as to why the virus took her husband and not her, “It’s unpredictable, there are no rules” responds a doctor— a simple reality we have all come to acknowledge; this virus is not one that discriminates, regardless of location, ethnicity, gender and race, all people have been faced with these same aching realities imposed by a mutual threat. Closely following the personal experiences of five people, Chang and his team are able to show how those living at the epicentre of the virus share an inarguable likeness with those from the rest of the world.
Starting in February, two months into their city wide lockdown, Yin and his pregnant wife Xu, have their lives completely altered by the virus. Yin temporarily losing his job to the pandemic, begins volunteering as a driver for front line workers, while his wife Xu remains at home to ensure her and her unborn child’s safety. The audience witnesses their simple lifestyle, from eating with each other in the morning, dancing to pass the time, and bantering over the possible sex of their child. Xu, fearful of her health being compromised, wishes she could trade her delivery date to one outside of the pandemic, encouraging her, Yin holds her pregnant belly and tells her “It’s your destiny”.
At the Fangcang Temporary Hospital, a team of phycologists led by Dr. Zhang work to provide therapy to patients. Dr. Zhang, who traveled to Wuhan as a volunteer, looks to help those struggling with anxiety, insomnia and general sadness while adapting to the cities current state. In a group therapy session, as patients discus their troubled feelings, Dr. Zhang makes a statement that can comfort the mind of anyone traumatized by the pandemic, she says “Disaster is an abnormal event. Every single emotion we have during this is normal”.
At this same facility, Mama Lui and her eight year old son, Lailai, have been admitted for having minor symptoms of Covid-19. After continuous testing, and feeling trapped and confined to the hospital, Mama Lui becomes irritated, aching to be able to take her young son home. Still in the early stages of the pandemic, the fear that builds in Mama Lui is one of uncertainty for the future.
It is at the Wuhan No. 5 Hospital where those who have serious Covid-19 cases are sent. As the film follows both Nurse Susu and ER Chief Zheng through hallways and examination rooms, the scenes permeate with sounds of machines beeping and plastic protective gear rubbing against itself as medical professionals hurriedly perform procedures. Dealing with seriously compromised patients, both Nurse Susu and ER Chief Zheng are in high stress and sensitive work environments, on top of this, they are unable to see their family in any physical capacity. Following Nurse Susu back to her temporary home at a medical worker’s hotel, we see her struggling through a video chat with one of her children; emotionally drained by not being able to be near them. In a moment of vulnerability ER Chief Zheng expresses how he coped during the pandemic; explaining how he told an old classmate “If I don’t make it please take care of my child to the best of your ability”.
This is a moving documentary that stands with the people of Wuhan, telling their story through their perspective. Director Yung Chang and his team created a film that not only evokes empathy in its viewer, but reveals a universal likeness to each of its focused characters. The film begs for the remembrance of the person behind the medical mask, that there is more to our current health crisis than the virus itself, that people are still of utmost importance.
Score: B+
© 2021. UniversalCinema Mag.