Educational Media Reviews Online

During the city of Shanghai’s unprecedented building boom since the 1990s, many buildings of historical value have been lost and replaced by high rise structures. Jeffrey Wong is a businessman who seeks out such structures, takes them apart, and reassembles them in the outskirts of Shanghai; on a site he hopes will become a museum of buildings. By doing this, Wong has become well known among educated people in Shanghai, but has also aroused suspicion about his motives. One of Wong’s first priorities has been to avoid conflict with the Chinese government.

Mr. Wong’s World is a unique documentary in that it functions dually as a survey of a historical preservation project, and as a portrait of a man whose lifestyle contrasts many of the characteristics of modern day Shanghai. For this reason however, the subtitle, Saving the Architectural Heritage of Shanghai is somewhat misleading; only the first half of the film focuses on Wong’s projects, and even then, it doesn’t delve deeply into the craft or the value the architecture being restored. Presumably because the film was made while Wong’s projects were underway, we never see the end result.

The most interesting portion of the film occurs at the halfway mark, with the juxtaposition between a high rise real estate project, and the slum that is being torn down to make room for it. The scene switches between a salesperson giving a tour of a luxury apartment, and the people who still live in the depleted mass occupancy buildings relating their inability to relocate because, although the Chinese government is monetarily compensating them, the amount is not enough to secure a new place to live.

The second half of the film treats Wong almost as a celebrity, with footage of his hobbies of nightclub singing and calligraphy, and even a photo shoot for a magazine interview. This serves to explore the values of the people in present day Shanghai; Wong’s comments range from the lack of value for the architecture of one hundred years ago, to the causes of unhappiness in the people of the area. This is where the film begins to meander. It could easily have been trimmed to 20 minutes shorter than its running time. At 80 minutes, the film quickly outruns the interest of the subject, and its depth of exploration. The target audience is also unclear. Were it confined to the restoration project itself, it would be appropriate for architecture students, but as it is, there is little appeal for someone who is not specifically interested in historical preservation in China.

Technically, Mr. Wong’s World is commendable. There are several striking shots of the Shanghai skyline which serve to accentuate the points being explored, although the images of high-rise Shanghai are more memorable than the historical architecture being preserved. The people interviewed for the film collectively speak several languages, but the sound quality is good, and clear subtitles are provided for the non-English portions.