What you will write:
"Thomas Mao" is divided into four segments. Segment four shows "Thomas" and "Mao" as friends; Mao is a painter and Thomas his model. Obviously these two characters are played by the same actors who formed the first three segments of the film, but it seems clear that the film is showing two different realities.
Your task is to offer an explanation of the film in as short a space as possible. You may write as much as two pages, and as little as one page. Try to take into account the role of "art" as part of your explanation. The final scene takes place in an art gallery, but the most obvious "art" we see as viewers is cinema.
There are a lot of angles you can use to offer an interpretation. For example, cross-cultural (and extra-terrestrial) relations, language, framing of shots and of paintings, narrative structure, parallel realities, and perhaps Chinese philosophy through the symbol of the butterfly.
You are not being asked whether you "like" or "dislike" the film, but to offer a coherent and organized explanation of the film. Part of the challenge is to explain this in a short space. If you feel being concise is inhibiting, remember that your classmates all have the same constraint.
Length: 1-2 pages.