Despite now having made many conventional length documentaries, this Chinese director is best reputed for his expansive works—the 9-hour Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks—which is why Mrs. Fang's modestly scaled, minutely attentive and intimate focus on the last living days of this grandmother on her deathbed has unusual force. Her face, framed in immense close-ups, mouth agape, skin drawn, barely breathing but eyes still shining, are given sustained and merciful attention by the filmmaker.
Daniel Kasman
August 12, 2017