Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: ART COLLEGE 1994 [Berlinale 2023 - Berlin, Germany]
The idea of moving through college, especially one in the arts, is finding that balance between the creative side and commerce. "Art College 1994" (Competition) is a very specific story for a specific time. Interestingly enough it keys in [for this viewer -- being at an arts school (NYU Film School) at that exact same time (1994)] in a very visceral and nostalgic way. Now while this takes place at a fine arts school in China, there are certain ideal and intentions that are not all that different from the experience in the States at the same time. Some of the inspirations and references are the same. Others are different. The battle in the minds of the students here is between traditionalism and thinking outside the box. The same could be said at NYU in the mid 90s, between the approach of the 70s titans and the new wave of 90s led by Tarantino (at least in the film area). There are a collection of students there and here for different reasons and with different levels of talent and motivation. The aspect of heading to look for cassette tapes and pizza on late nights and hanging out with friends and flirting and pursuing the girls is all the same.
The connection that continues is expectation which is an interesting conundrum. The girls on one side of the equation are still looking (at least in China) at the status of marriage versus the element of learning singing or piano or craft. The men seems much more content but much more broke. The societal basis knows that artists for the most part will never have any money. However is it about making that one dynamic piece of art instead of trying to chase a dream of what art should be or what is hot at any given moment. The aspect of the posers and the scammers versus those who made it and the pretentiousness of that is all captured very succinctly and without bias. Filmmaker Liu Jian gets the pace but also the late night chills and conversations during those times that are just as vivid then as they were then without the need of cellphones to capture it. "Art College 1994" might not be for everyone and its pace is dictated by the hangout progressions of its characters but it speaks to a certain part of a generation that gets the why and when of that time and how much it meant. B
By Tim Wassberg
