The Dating Game

Three cheers for Violet Du Feng's latest movie!

This is a terrific documentary as it explores the struggles of Chinese men who are looking for love at a time where they dramatically outnumber women.

Du Feng does a terrific job of showing the humor in the coaching of these men--from new haircuts, to new clothes, and silly pickup lines--without making fun of the men. And there is a startling scene between the dating coach and his wife which is magnificent. It isn't easy to show all of this without casting blame or making fun, but this film does neither. Violet Du Feng treats everyone in this film with great respect. And I just love the very end!

I found that Violet Du Feng explores--without explicitly hitting you over the head--the issues associated with dating gurus, the feelings of the characters, and the bigger issue of the global impacts of a country with a huge imbalance in the number of men and women in society. And, so very importantly, Violet Du Feng takes great care to listen to and respect the characters. Bravo!!

One last point. I watched this film at the Human International Documentary Film Festival. A big thank you to them for carefully curating their films. And especially regarding Chinese documentaries, they do a terrific job of finding films that help people understand China at a very personal, not rhetorical, and deeper level. The Human International Documentary Film Festival is terrific!