Wu Haohao: the Chinese Ed Wood? Photo: Robert Douglas

By Robert Douglas

It's always a good sign when a director proclaims himself to be the voice of an entire generation, and even better if he believes himself to be the voice of all generations. And such is the case with Wu Haohao, a filmmaker born in 1986 in Shanxi Province, who studied film in Chongqing and later at the Beijing Film Academy.

A screening of Wu's film, Kun 1: Action, took place at the Caihuoche Cultural Salon (blog. sina.com.cn/caihuocheba) last Sunday afternoon, and was followed by a Q&A session with the director himself.

When the Global Times got in touch with Wu to ask for a preview copy of Kun 1 several days prior to Sunday's screening, Wu replied, "If you want to watch, you pay," and asked for 100 yuan.

So what's Wu's film all about? It's primarily about himself, and comprises a series of ramblings and musings from the directors Wu apparently became obsessed with while studying film in Chongqing. We see Wu (playing himself) and his roommates watching Jean Luc Goddard and Wong Kar-Wai films and discussing them.

Another apparent obsession of Wu is Wu himself, as one of the film's opening shots is the director lying in bed completely naked. Towards the end of Kun 1, viewers are introduced to Wu's third obsession: politics, specifically, communism and globalization.

Kun 1 features a series of title cards that helpfully flash up on the screen to introduce the next topic, for example, a segment on "Love" cuts to "USA vs. China." During Wu's "Love" segment, viewers are treated to a shot of his fully nude roommate getting ser-viced by his girlfriend, shortly followed by the only character in the film over the age of 30, the girlfriend's mother.

"My aim in life is to have no aim," says the girlfriend's mother.

In the film's opening minutes, Wu purposefully poses in front of a mirror to say, "If you look at yourself long enough, you will understand the world."

Wu was met with a particularly hostile audience during the Q&A session. Several questioners asked him why he seemed to have no respect towards his audience and his movie's subjects, given that several segments seemed to directly attack the sick and common people. One particularly disturbing scene involved Wu desecrating graves for people that died during the Cultural Revolution.

Wu's response to his critics? "You as an audience have no respect."

When the Global Times asked Wu about his take on globalization, he answered that while the themes he employs might also be found in other student films, his technique (and therefore film) is wholly unique. When questioned further, Wu simply replied that all the answers are to be found in the film itself, and that and to get them would require a purchase of the DVD.

Wu revealed that Kun 1 is only his first film, and that three sequels have already been made. The director also helpfully told that the audience that Kun 3 was available for sale for 200 yuan. Wu's reason for the doubled price? "It's twice as long as Kun 1."

And while Wu couldn't help but ramble on about wanting "a more pure, non-corrupt political system" in China, the director seemed to be more obsessed with money than the people he apparently tries to criticize with his films. But unless we're willing to pay, we're certainly not going to be getting any answers from him.