Review: Finding Yingying
Note: This film was a selection at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival.
Imagine someone in your family goes to a country they’ve never been to before to continue their studies. Reluctant, you’re still happy for their new adventure and see them off to pursue their dreams. Now, imagine that after a mere six weeks in that new country, your family member goes missing out of nowhere. What are the next steps? How will this affect life afterwards?
Finding Yingying is a heartbreaking documentary about the disappearance of Yingying Zhang, a 26-year-old Chinese woman who came to the United States to continue her education in science at the University of Illinois. She centered her life around her family, boyfriend, friends, and her aspirations to be a famous scientist and teacher. The documentary is shot by her former friend and classmate Jiayan “Jenny” Shi who delicately covers the life of Yingying and events leading to her disappearance without glorifying the crime itself.
From the beginning, we know that this story won’t conclude with the happiest of endings for Yingying herself. Yingying’s life was taken too short when she was kidnapped and murdered by a former University of Illinois graduate when he picked her up on a street corner after she was seen flustered and in need of help. This was not his only murder, as he was secretly being tapped by his girlfriend at the time. He confessed to 12 prior murders and boasted how Yingying was number 13. He even had the audacity to show up and support events raising awareness for Yingying’s disappearance. Bold move for such a monster.
However, for being such a somber documentary, there is a realm of calmness and love surrounding the entire production. It may be the beautiful way we’re introduced to Yingying and shown how empathetic she was and how much she meant to the people around her. The documentary opens up with the director reading excerpts from Yingying’s diary. Her eloquent words and the excitement of her future are aspirational. It’s such a shame knowing what happened to her and what could have been. Finding Yingying focuses more on the victim and gives us a concise look at who she was as a person and doesn’t give all its time to the suspect, and rightfully so. Though this is a true crime documentary, Shi delivers something we don’t normally see in other true crime documentaries and it is oddly refreshing.
Criminal proceedings finalized a long and excruciating two years after Yingying’s unfortunate fate. It’s frustrating to see how long it took for the United States to come to a conclusion. Watching a family push so hard for justice for their daughter with tears streaming is excruciatingly difficult, but to see the impact Yingying had on everyone around her is somewhat comforting. The respect shown for Yingying and her family throughout this documentary is heartwarming and humble.
Finding Yingying illustrates a painful time in a family's life, but also raises awareness to the safety and trust one has when traveling abroad. Who can you trust when you’re in a panic? What kind of decisions will you make during this time? How do people act in other countries than what you’re normally used to? Yingying Zhan will be remembered by many and there’s no denying that if it weren’t for such a heinous act, Yingying would be an asset to science today.
