Bringing King to China

Ghandi’s movement for non-violent social change via Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., challenged American values about freedom. Kevin’s daughter, Caitrin McKiernan, dreamed of bringing King’s similar message to the Chinese people and its government through theatre. No stranger to challenge, she is a passionate believer in the power of non-violent activism and an active anti-war protester. The film chronicles her journey from script to stage and her shifting relationship with her father, a former ABC Iraq war correspondent, (also former Minneapolis resident and NPR reporter) and the director of this insightful and provocative documentary. Visual credits include Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Bound For Glory).

This wretched documentary is positioned as “a love letter” from veteran journalist/filmmaker Kevin McKiernan to his daughter Cáitrín, an American teacher in Beijing. Cáitrín manages to raise $200,000 for a play she hopes will bring Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of nonviolence to China. There apparently was no money left over for a decent camera, as the film’s production value is laughably pedestrian. Moreover, the doc is clumsily assembled, intellectually shallow and geopolitically paternalistic. It doesn’t help that our protagonist, Cáitrín, comes off whiny and wholly unlikeable throughout. (U.S., 85 min.)Jay Boller. 1/2 star out of 4 stars