Stay Awesome, China! (2019) User Reviews

Perfecto!

[Oliver-Dawson · 10/10 · 12 February 2019]

If you like documentaries and learn different cultures then you must like this. Winston makes it easy to understand how China works. I myself think alot of people have misunderstood how chinese culture works and how people are in 21st century and after you learn more about them you can understand better how and why china is different from other countries.



Movie is magnificent, I love it!

I deeply reccomend his youtube channel Serpentza to anyone who is more interested about China, He constantly uploads videos and teaches us more!

I wouldn't recommend this

[drfraud-1 · 3/10 · 25 March 2019]

I'm not entirely sure what type of audience this is meant for because people that have followed Winston's work on YouTube will be shockingly surprised by how positive and to some extent "fake" this video is in comparison to his regular YT videos. As a matter of fact, I felt it was somewhat hypocritical of him and very misleading to the people watching this documentary that the topics he covered in it were then dissected and criticized in his regular YouTube videos. He goes into a lot of detail on the channel and essentially bashes a lot of the stuff he did regular Winston style. And it's not that he's wrong, it's just...misleading - why not mention it in this title? Why not be honest with your viewers?

So the thing about Winston's videos is that they are generally quite biased and somewhat one sided. You can kind of get a taste of what this will be like by watching his YouTube videos. His take on China has always been: "don't get my wrong, I love China" but always involved various types of somewhat negative criticisms, not all wrong of course, but also some of which anyone with Chinese background would probably hate him for.

Imagine a Chinese guy comes to your country, finds the worst your country has to offer and goes on Youku(Chinese YouTube) and exposes it for all China to see, pretty much being disgusted by it while politely replying in your language that he loves it. That's kind of the nutshell of a lot of his videos, but strangely and somewhat misleadingly not this one.

In this video, he's presenting a positive view of the fringe culture in China and I was genuinely surprised but not in a good way. Simply because this was so much different from the regular Winston videos I'm used to on YouTube, I actually ended up finding this title boring.

And unlike some other travel documentary makers out there, unfortunately, Winston is also not very knowledgeable either. It feels like he does only surface research prior to writing the script and knows little about the world outside of his bubble. It worked well as an opinion piece when all he did was YouTube videos because that's how YouTube works, but once you start making documentaries and want to present the world to people, I don't think it's fair to have the same approach.

The only part I really enjoyed, was seeing Naomi who I highly respect for what she does, but there was not enough of her work and it was such a short and simple expose that it was totally pointless at the end. I would have preferred to see some of the cool stuff she has going.

Would I recommend this? Not for the price and not for his YouTube fans. This is so different from his regular stuff that I genuinely didn't really enjoy it.

I would recommend this to someone who wants to watch a video about Chinese fringe topics and some interesting offbeat science research, but because it was so random and so disconnected, I don't think it's really worth it at the end.

If you want more Naomi stuff, go check out her channel, her content is stellar. If you want to see what this video is like, watch some of his videos first.

Not really worth your time or money in my opinion.

Giving it some stars for good camera shots in some parts, but taking away a lot of stars for the overall presentation and the unusual disconnected themes presented. This would have been so much better as a separate episode for each city, instead of a mishmash of several cities and random stuff from each.

Fascinating!

[marcgriefer · 10/10 · 23 February 2019]

A rare look into Chinese culture and subculture without the usual propaganda or biased views. Winston is a charming host, sincerely interested in China and its people.

Amazing 3rd Documentary of China

[ttclapper · 10/10 · 24 February 2019]

The 1st documentary, Conquering Southern China gave my family unrestricted access to Eastern culture. Since then, we've been mesmerized. Stay Awesome, China!, a 3rd documentary, explores new locations not covered in the 1st & 2nd (Conquering Northern China) documentaries. Several unique stories that are true & have never been told in the West are at the heart of SAC! These stories engage the audience with feelings of acceptance & happiness. My favorite director, Kurosawa, probably could appreciate the obstacles that were overcome while filming & finding a unique style. Very entertaining.

Enthralling...

[strider367 · 10/10 · 9 April 2019]

This is by far the best produced and polished video you have made. Very professional I really enjoyed this video. Not taking away the really great work you have done and keep on doing. On a regular basis in your youtube channels. Keep them coming, stay awesome...

Take a look, you won't be disappointed

[divusmetaphysica · 9/10 · 20 April 2019]

I love how Winston draws a picture of China full of talent, repressed or not. Hes shows how China and its people are not it's outer politics. The way he can discuss with the people and interact transparently with both the audience and the interviewees gives a more natural experience. Without his effort to depict a realistic and truthful picture of China, the good and the bad, I wouldn't be so fond of the country today.

Take a look to his Youtube channel. You will not be disappointed. There he brings out the fine side of chinese culture and life.

Love It & Watching it again

[raistlinschreiber · 9/10 · 14 April 2019]

Love it, watching it again tonight for the 2nd time. I've learned a great deal more about China it's really difficult to put it into words but I'm beyond grateful for what Winston and the crew have done with this documentary. Highly, highly, highly recommend watching this- just not as much as I can recommend Conquering Northern & Southern China. Only giving it a 9 because C-Milk wasn't in it, would be an 8 but Winston rapped in Chinese---- who doesn't want to see him rap? :D

Is Awsome!

[tony-yeager · 10/10 · 17 April 2019]

Stay Awesome, China!: Purchasing the video was very quick and easy. The file size is 11.6GB and lasts for just over 77 minutes. So keep that in mind if you have slow internet, a data cap or low HDD space. The documentary is excellent and reflects the high quality demanded by today's cinema standards. I found the topics extremely interesting, tastefully presented and very enlightening about China and its people. (and a little enlightening about Winston too, (Oh RATS!) LOL.) Unlike some documentaries, at no time was I board. In fact I felt slightly disappointed that there wasn't more. If this is Winston's first stab at documentaries, then he needs to do more. Outstanding content. I will be one of the first ones to buy his next release. Extreme file size is the only thing that puts me off from this experience.

Great Production Value and a Different side of Sterzel

[Watcher7g · 8/10 · 1 April 2019]

This is a great video exploring new features of what can be found in China. Winston Sterzel is moving forward in a big way professionally and journalistically. The crew and production company do a great job with this high quality production.

This latest effort by Sterzel shows that he is interested in showing some particular cultural trend setters in China without making judgments. This is a new side to Sterzel's communication with his YouTube fans---he is not critical in the sense of judgmental, but instead explores the motivations behind the activities of his subjects.

I quite enjoyed watching this video and hope to see more efforts like this from Winston Sturzel of ADV China fame.

Stay awesome!

Incredibly Well Shot!

[subscriber-40708 · 10/10 · 23 April 2019]

Just WOW! I can't believe how incredibly well shot this is. I often write in the director's Youtube comments how much I love drone shots, but in this one, the rain on the ground, the framing of subjects, everything is just so well done. This is a truly professional level work in every respect. It makes me really miss China and want to get back there!

I lived in China nearly ten years and still was able to learn about some of the deeper levels to the country that most may not get a chance to witness. The burgeoning movements and subcultures were a very refreshing image of a place that may not seem so vivid when you're going through your daily grind.

I highly recommend this for anyone with an interest in modern China, whether new to the topic or a veteran of living in country.

Worth the $

[cronjejames · 8/10 · 31 March 2019]

Hi Winston. My girlfriend and I have been watching yourself and Lao for as long as we have been together, keep up the great work. Regards from happy & sunny Cape Town!

The mosquito breeding science is just amazing!!!

[MovieIQTest · 8 March 2019]

You don't have to watch Winston Sterzel ate the fried rat or fried locusts, but believe me, once you watch how the Chinese scientists breed the male mosquito to reduce the population of the female mosquito that bite humans and animals, you'd know the Chinese scientists are trying very hard to do some good for their own peoples' health and for the benefit of the whole world. By knowing this, this documentary is priceless!!! For other parts of this documentary, you could just disregard or use speed forward to skip them.