MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for A Beautiful Life

A Beautiful Life

2010 · 96 min

A patient, quietly tense documentary that observes bureaucratic limbo and personal protest with earnest attention.

Directed by
Ai Weiwei
Genres
Documentary
Overview
The Shanghai authorities rejected Feng Zhenghu, originated from Wenzhou, Jiejiang, China, from returning to the country for a total of eight times in 2009. On November 4, 2009, Feng Zhenghu attempted to return home for the ninth time but the police from Shanghai used violence and kidnapped him to board a flight to Japan. Feng refused to enter Japan and decided to live in the Immigration Hall at Terminal 1 of the Narita Airport in Tokyo, as an act of protest.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Ai Weiwei
Genres
Documentary
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • justice
  • isolation
  • politics
  • survival
  • identity
Places
  • hospital
  • big city
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • documentary
  • true story
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror0
Humour1
Realism10
Romance0
Tension5
Darkness6
Complexity5
Emotional weight7

More like this

Titles like A Beautiful Life

Movie

Disturbing the Peace

2009

A raw, handheld act of bearing witness, following advocates through bureaucratic stonewalling with mounting unease and quiet outrage.

Same director: Ai Weiwei · Tense, earnest · about justice and politics · documentary

Also
Same director: Ai Weiwei
Via
  • tense
  • earnest
  • justice
  • politics
  • documentary
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
78 min
Details
Disturbing the PeaceHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Rest

2019

A patient, humane documentary that sits with displaced people and asks you to look closely and feel the weight of their journeys.

Same director: Ai Weiwei · Earnest · about isolation and politics · documentary

Also
Same director: Ai Weiwei
Via
  • earnest
  • isolation
  • politics
  • documentary
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
79 min
Details
The RestHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

One Recluse

2010

A sober, patient documentary that walks through a violent case and its murky legal aftermath, leaving a heavy sense of injustice.

Same director: Ai Weiwei · About justice and isolation · documentary

Also
Same director: Ai Weiwei
Via
  • justice
  • isolation
  • documentary
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
180 min
Details
One RecluseHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

AMINETU

2026

A quiet, resolute documentary that turns one woman's stubborn refusal to be exiled into slow-building moral pressure you feel in your chest.

Tense, earnest · about justice and politics · documentary

Via
  • tense
  • earnest
  • justice
  • politics
  • documentary
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Details
AMINETUHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Crab House

2012

Watching this feels like quietly witnessing bureaucratic power crush a personal project, leaving a lingering unease.

Same director: Ai Weiwei · Tense · about justice and politics · documentary

Also
Same director: Ai Weiwei
Via
  • tense
  • justice
  • politics
  • documentary
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
60 min
Details
The Crab HouseHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Ai Weiwei's Appeal ¥15,220,910.50

2014

A patient, sobering procedural of state pressure and quiet endurance, watching daily life under surveillance with mounting weariness and resolve.

Same director: Ai Weiwei · About justice and isolation · documentary

Also
Same director: Ai Weiwei
Via
  • justice
  • isolation
  • documentary
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
127 min
Details
Ai Weiwei's Appeal ¥15,220,910.50Hidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Stay Home

2013

A quiet, patient portrait of one woman's endurance, watching her daily life with a heavy sense of injustice and quiet sorrow.

Same director: Ai Weiwei · Earnest · about justice and isolation · documentary

Also
Same director: Ai Weiwei
Via
  • earnest
  • justice
  • isolation
  • documentary
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
77 min
Details
Stay HomeHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Sara Mardini - Gegen den Strom

2023

A sobering, emotionally charged documentary that follows a young humanitarian's legal battle, leaving you tense and reflective.

Tense, earnest · about justice and isolation · true story

Via
  • tense
  • earnest
  • justice
  • isolation
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
88 min
Details
Sara Mardini - Gegen den StromHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

You Know What I Mean

2014

A sober, slow-burning documentary that immerses you in the grim mechanics of injustice, leaving a heavy and lingering sense of outrage.

Same director: Ai Weiwei · Tense, earnest · about justice · documentary

Also
Same director: Ai Weiwei
Via
  • tense
  • earnest
  • justice
  • documentary
Pacing
measured
Attention
demanding
Runtime
75 min
Details
You Know What I MeanHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Fortress

2008

A patient, quietly heavy observational watch that sits with waiting people and asks you to hold their uncertainty without relief.

Earnest · about justice and isolation · documentary

Via
  • earnest
  • justice
  • isolation
  • documentary
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
104 min
Details
The FortressHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Flower Good Moon Round

2011

A sobering, firsthand look at state violence that feels urgent and unsettling, asking for close attention.

Same director: Ai Weiwei · Tense, earnest · about justice and politics · documentary

Also
Same director: Ai Weiwei
Via
  • tense
  • earnest
  • justice
  • politics
  • documentary
Pacing
measured
Attention
demanding
Runtime
126 min
Details
Flower Good Moon RoundHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Parque Oeste

2018

A quiet, sobering documentary that follows one woman's long fight for a home, leaving a heavy but humane impression.

Earnest · about justice and isolation · true story

Via
  • earnest
  • justice
  • isolation
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
79 min
Details
Parque OesteHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
documentary
Directed by
Ai Weiwei
Runtime
96 min
Country
China

TMDB