Neither Donkey Nor Horse

Robin Wang’s powerful and moving short film, Neither Donkey Nor Horse, evokes a bleak sense of ignorance dominating the upper echelons of society who would rather maintain their status than accept change and truth.

Based on the real-life scientist Dr. Wu Lien-teh (brilliantly played in this short film by Chris Pang), whose incredible research into airborne disease during the Great Manchurian Plague of 1910 saw him face strong opposition from both Chinese and Western scientific communities. Through his dedication and perseverance, however, he not only became a Nobel Prize-nominated scientist but also became the father of the masks we use to this day to prevent airborne diseases from spreading.

The phrase “Neither Donkey Nor Horse” is often used to refer to the blending of Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine - suggesting that someone is an impure hybrid. One of Dr Wu’s critics uses it on our protagonist during the movie and it is meant as a severe insult. It is this considerable anger and upset which becomes Dr Wu’s additional challenge in the film (the first being the terrible plague killing thousands of people which he needs to cure, or at least prevent spreading).

The Westerners, led by the egotistical Dr Gerald Mesny (also brilliantly played by Michael Monasterio) currently believe the disease is being spread by rats and are focusing largely on methods to stop the rats from travelling around and giving it to more of the population. Dr Wu feels that if he could only perform a post-mortem operation (something seen as a wicked act in China at the time) on someone who has recently died of the illness, he could learn more about the disease and find a way to properly prevent it.

A biographical film like this has potent relevance to a modern audience. Our current society has just been through one of the worst pandemics in centuries and the struggle for modern science to prevail in a post-truth culture where anyone and everyone can spout “medical opinions” with a keyboard and an internet connection has left us in a state not that dissimilar to China in 1910 as we might have hoped. Being doomed to experience vast amounts of preventable pain and death for fear of being “wrong” by those in charge is the true horror we witness in this short film and it is woefully relatable.

The film itself looks incredible, with a stunning mise-en-scène, brooding atmosphere in every scene, and strong chemistry between the performers. Wang’s direction is fierce, knowing exactly when to pull us into the political discourse and when to blindside us with human tragedy.

Thirty minutes feels dangerously short in this instance, and if this is a proof of concept for something much more substantial, sign us up quicker than we can strap a face mask on.