The
motto of artist Maleonn’s family could very well be “the show must go on.” His
father Ma Ke managed to direct over eighty Chinese Opera productions, even
though he was forced to take time off for the Cultural Revolution. Now the
artist born Ma Liang is determined to pay tribute to his father with an
experimental puppet show while the senior Ma can still appreciate it. Maleonn’s
costly, time-consuming project is documented in S. Leo Chiang & Yang Sun’s Our
Time Machine, which screens during the 2020 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Even
though Ma Ke has rewritten several epic drafts of his memoirs, he is losing his
memory to Alzheimer’s. Watching it happen is a painful experience for Maleonn,
but it directly inspired his new project, Papa’s Time Machine. He often
used puppets in his photography, sort of like the work of Gregory Crewdson, but
with a pronounced Pinocchio influence. However, this will be his first time
mounting a puppetry production on stage.
The
allegorical story follows the son of an aging aviator, who creates a time
machine to remind his father of the important events of their lives.
Unfortunately, developing the puppets and the richly detailed sets proves to be
far more complicated (and expensive) than Maleonn and his production managers
initially estimated. Soon, the Time Machine project is wildly over
budget and running two years behind schedule. On the plus side, Maleonn falls
in love with the co-director he recruits for the show.
There
is a weird moment in the film when Maleonn tells his parents to ignore he might
say and just follow the advice of the Chinese Communist Party instead. Presumably,
that is the price it took to get Our Time Machine approved by the
Chinese Film Authorities. Of course, it is hard to believe he really means it,
especially considering the hardships his parent endured during the Cultural
Revolution, despite the fact he was a direct product of those times. The hard labor
was particularly taxing for his mother to endure, but she saw that pregnant women
were allowed more time to rest, so hence she was soon pregnant with him.
Frankly,
many viewers will wish Chiang and Yang showed more of Maleonn’s show. He directly
acknowledges his debt of inspiration to H.G. Wells and Pinocchio, but there also
definitely seems to be a Little Prince vibe going on. Regardless, it is
a highly distinctive work of stagecraft.
It
seems pretty clear Papa’s Time Machine has been an enormous money-loser
for Maleonn, but Chiang & Yang’s documentary should definitely increase the
international recognition and demand for his work. Despite an occasionally
awkward moment, Our Time Machine is a surprisingly poignant portrait of
an artist as a family man. Recommended for anyone who follows the contemporary
Chinese art scene or traditional Chinese opera, Our Time Machine screens
this Friday (1/3), next Friday (1/10), and the following Saturday (1/11) as
part of PSIFF 2020. Happy New Year.
