7 Beats Per Minute
7 Beats Per Minute
Diving into the high seas is already something that many have a phobia, but taking a deep plunge without an air tank seems to be even worse. However, there are people like Jessea Lu who serve at the pinnacle of this sport. In the documentary film ‘7 Beats Per Minute’, the filmmaker Yuqi Kang chronicles Lu’s activities as she prepares for yet another dive. However, after an incident, Kang questions whether she was doing her subject more harm or good. The extent to which documentarians recklessly take their subjects has rarely been examined in the manner this is done in 7 Beats Per Minute which is a film about physical endurance and also the ethics of documentary film making.
In 7 Beats Per Minute, we meet Lu several episodes later, after she has undergone death: During her attempt to set a world record for deepest dive, she lost consciousness on her way up and needed to be rescued from the water; she was almost dead on the platform. She survives, and chooses to attempt to break it once more. As Kang shadows her, she and Kamashita become quite intimate.
What strikes me particularly with regards to the film 7 Beats Per Minute, it is the interest of those who observe how enablers go about their business. But as Lu and Kang progress in their relationship, there are legitimate concerns, such as whether Lu continues with her work simply for the sake of the film. Would it be fair to say that the narratives in Kang became too overwhelmed to retain an objective stance? Such questions can bog a film down but here they are highly engaging when they succeed in what they are doing.
But subjects and filmmakers are perhaps closer than they have ever been which is why on Kyung’s behalf such self-reflection is very welcome. And yet at the same time it is not enough – there is conflict between them (including camera crew footage of them arguing outside their house) but that does not ever appear to make Kang quit working on it; it was more of a superficial issue or lack there of which I think should have made The Kitchen better art.
Editing stays sharp throughout the film. There is a fair amount of new visual material but also some archival material which is quite gripping in terms of what was actually happening – footage of Lu’s ill-fated dive and subsequent events are simply tough to forget. This is a strong moment in the film, and it is well integrated into the plot.
Lu acknowledges this when he comments on the breathtaking beauty of the underwater. Watching Lu dive in, I find these images to be quite daunting. I am terrified of being on vast stretches of water, so this silence I am submerged in is entirely new to me; it is an overwhelming sensation that is beyond my comprehension. But then, at the same time, they are simply amazing images – particles floating by the camera peacefully, while we follow her movements in slow motion.
Exhibitionism of talent best describes as 7 Beats Per Minute. By all means there are few aspects of the work that annoy King, however, her knowing-filming-framing depth, especially in terms of the analysis of the subject, is not that deep. However, Kang can be said to be having a brilliant promise as regards directing because his work 7 Beats has thought provoking ideas. This film seems to be about to be change point for that’s why she joins the list of directors you have to be looking out for.
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- Genre: Documentary
- Country: Canada
- Director: Yuqi Kang
- Cast: Jessea Lu
