Boundless ambition is nothing new at the movies, of course. But occasionally, a project can still come along with the scope and chutzpah to throw the audience for a loop. Human Flow, the staggeringly gargantuan look at the global refugee crisis from Chinese director and activist Ai Weiwei, takes a subject that could consume a documentarian’s entire career and seemingly attempts to get it all in one go. While the constant stream of jaw-dropping imagery can sometimes feel like a case of Too Much Information, the sheer macro power of the visuals packs a wallop.
Shot in more than 20 countries, and utilizing more than 200 crew members (how did the drone cameras not block out the sun?), Ai’s mammoth passion project travels between overpopulated crisis points around the world, pausing only briefly for interviews with refugees and aid workers. The Google Earth-style views of huge masses of people on the move never stop being absolutely dumbfounding.