Renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei turns his attention to directing Puccini’s opera Turandot at the Rome Opera, with his friend, choreographer Chiang Ching. They begin work, only to be thwarted by the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which affected artists in the production. What finally emerges is a Turandot as beautiful as it is political.

By his own admission, Weiwei knew very little about opera, except that he had once been an extra almost 40 years ago in a Metropolitan Opera production of Turandot. Now, Weiwei takes Puccini’s tale of a Chinese prince who wants to win the hand of princess Turandot at the risk of his own life, and infuses it with current political commentary as only Weiwei can do. Ai Weiwei’s Turandot will go down as among the best, and most unique, films on the power of art.