‘Bipolar’: A Lobster-Loving Road Trip across China [ND/NF Review]

Road movies prime their audience to expect the unexpected – part of the point of the genre is for the protagonist’s expectations to be thwarted and for their journey to take a few extra twists and turns along the way. “Bipolar” takes this tendency to an extreme, with a protagonist so open to chasing new whims that it’s impossible to predict what might be happening in ten minutes, let alone by the end of the film. While the breakneck pursuit of the new and different can be jarring, eventually, we learn it’s a coping mechanism for overcoming loss, and audiences that can relate to the film and keep moving forward will be rewarded with a freewheeling and scenic journey of healing across the immensity of China.

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