Unsilenced

Hampered by sections of goopy, overly modest filmmaking, this drama is still worth seeking out due to the urgent nature of its true story, which is so powerful that it comes through clearly. Presented in both English and Mandarin (with English subtitles for U.S. release), Unsilenced timidly copies many other tearjerkers and pulse-pounding thrillers to put its pieces together, and not all of it works. A scene of Daniel and Min suddenly shopping for antiques in the middle of everything does eventually have a purpose, but the scene feels out of place. And a Mission: Impossible-type scene in which Wang and Xia pose as plumbers to secretly meet with Daniel is rather silly; playing a recording of banging pipes and sawing noises to cover up the sounds of their talk wouldn't exactly pass muster with Ethan Hunt.

But when Xia is first arrested and punched, hard, in the stomach, it becomes clear that this is serious. The Secretary Yang character really sells it with his movie-villain gestures and his scowl. He meets with informants in the backs of black cars and delivers ultimatums heartlessly. Through him, the movie cuts right through the politics and makes it clear that this is all a flat-out lie, committed by the CCP and designed to protect the power of those in power. It's an urgent and timely revelation, especially for those outside of Beijing who don't know this story. (The movie was filmed in Taiwan for safety purposes.) The real Wang appears at the end of Unsilenced as a way of illustrating how this fight has affected his life. It should never have happened.