Ta’ang is Chinese documentary filmmaker Wang Bing’s new film, which focuses on a refugee crisis—but these refugees are an ethnic minority. The Ta’ang live in the mountains of northern Burma and are battling government forces. Ta’ang refugees leave their homes and cross the border into China. Wang carefully observed them for three nights and four days. On the first day, the film shows what look like Chinese forces pushing the powerless refugees to one side and inflicting serious violence on them in a Yunnan province transit camp. After this typical opening, the mood changes radically, as the film focuses on the activities and emotions of the refugees. Perhaps the most outstanding part is a one-hour shot on the third day, in which the refugees gather around a bonfire and are just talking to each other. Their hands and faces are reflected in the flickering bonfire on a dark night, delivering a surprisingly gentle closeness under a shroud of fear and uncertainty. The camera is perfectly positioned and its observational scrutiny switches to the poetry of light and sound. (CHO Hyeyoung)