A couple months ago I read a book called Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory, which touches upon the mass migration of people from the countryside into the big cities in China. It is a pretty interesting book that paints a picture of a changing society as China emerges into an economic superpower. Within this decade, China's urban population will outnumber its rural population for the first time ever, one of the telltale signs of economic growth. But this sudden societal shift often pays a heavy price, tragically displayed in Last Train Home, a remarkable and heartbreaking documentary film that follows one family's painful journey through modern China.
Every year, millions of young men and women leave China's countryside and migrate to the big cities in search of better paying jobs, often leaving behind their young children and elderly parents. They work insanely hard at low paying (for us) jobs and send home almost everything they make. It almost shames me to think about how frivolous I am with my money and how fortunate I am to be born in America when I read about people working 16 hour shifts in factories making less than a dollar an hour. And this is what they left family and home to travel thousands of miles for. They often only go home once a year, during New Years, in the largest human migration in the world. Over 130 million people make the journey back home. You can only watch in amazement at scenes of the train station where a sea of humanity nearly trample each other to death to find tickets and cram their way onto the train.
The film begins with Changhua and Suqin, who left their native village in the Sichuan province 15 years ago, leaving behind their newborn daughter Qin in the care of her grandmother. Suqin explains that "I hardened my heart and left with my husband. I had no choice. That's life." They send their money back home so that their two children can go to school in hopes that they will have a better life. But seeing your children just once a year has its effects. Changhua admits that he doesn't know what to say to his own children when he sees them other than to study hard at school. Qin is now a teenager and cannot relate to the parents she barely knows. "My parents barely raised me, so how can there be any feelings? All they care about is money." This "better life" has come at a steep price.
In a tragic turn of events, in the next year we see her, Qin has dropped out of school to work in a factory in the city which breaks her parents' hearts. Like the foreigners that she makes jeans for, she has grown independent and wants things for herself. In a scene where she and her friend go shopping, without any irony they wonder if they made the pair of jeans they are holding. Changhua constantly reminds her, "You don't want to end up like me," but Qin is just a teenager and cannot see the big picture. It is so sad to see someone trapped at such a young age. In this harsh environment, people rarely get second chances.
I am always fascinated with how documentaries are filmed. How do they get people to open up so honestly with them? How do they feel being followed around by cameras? Director Lixin Fan shoots with a fly on the wall presence and paints an intimate portrait of their life. In a scene that no one could have predicted, Qin's rebellious attitude causes a fight between her and her father in gut wrenching fashion. Qin yells at the camera, to us, "you want to film the real me - this is the real me!" The heart of the film lies in the turmoil between Qin and her parents, the generational split that any parent can relate to. After being disappointed by Qin's increasing callowness, her mother sullenly tells her, "You have yet to taste the bitterness of life."
The film focuses on the domestic life of the family but also spends a good amount of time on the New Years festival where people desperately try to make it back home in time to celebrate with their families. The scenes are pure chaos and almost suffocating to watch. In fact all the scenes of the city feel claustrophobic with the tight shots which I imagine had to be done out of necessity; there simply isn't room in these crowded spaces to set up long shots. The air looks foul and the streets are dirty, it is only until they finally get settled on the train are we allowed to breathe and the lush green and serenity of the countryside is a stark contrast to the fast pace life of the city. It really is great cinematography.
These two contrasting images of the country and the city show the divide in society that is taking place in the name of economic growth. Families have become fractured and cultural values are lost. Last Train Home shows the personal cost of trying to make it, if you can even call it that. The end credits roll leaving us wondering what will become of this particular family and I can only hope for the best, but the realist in me is doubtful.
A truly powerful film.
Grade: A
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