“Some people never settle” is an adage that applies to some people, including the titular subject in Fan Wu’s Xixi. The first seeds of this project come from a chance meeting between the director and subject in China. As Xixi, a performance artist, marries a French engineer, Mederic, they keep in touch through tons of frank video diaries.

The diaries show that Xixi becomes more restless as a wife and mother so she decides to hitchhike through Europe. Fan comes to Europe with her through these trips, where they discuss how bravery manifests within generations of women. As tensions between Xixi and Mederic rise, the former tells Fan about her difficulties with Mederic’s ideas of motherhood.

The documentary, for the most part, successfully touches on other ideas like how Asian society treats little girls. Xixi specifically confronts misogyny in Asian culture during scenes when she reunites with her own mother. The film examines how the titular subject deals with those larger social trends, especially as she interacts with her daughter through Facetime.

I’m all about representation of Asians for Asians but there’s something about the subject matter in Xixi that’s slightly bothersome.  I already mentioned the four Asian girls and women that are on the forefront in this micro focused documentary. Arguably, there’s something whitewashed about two of these women, and some may see Xixi’s struggle as just existentialist white girl problems.

Xixi is a difficult main subject to root for, especially when she’s arguing about how she doesn’t want to commodify her art. But then again, her perspective on that argument with her mother has its points. Besides, there’s something heartbreaking about watching this free spirit organise paperwork for her visa, making viewers wish that she should do as she pleases.

Watch Xixi as part of Hot Docs.