Thoughts on the movie "Last Train Home"

I knew today was going to be a rainy, chilly day in Washington D.C., and I thought it would be the perfect day to see a movie in the theaters.

I have been wanting to check out the E Street Cinema, a Landmark Theater in downtown Washington D.C. that shows independent films, documentaries and classic films. I enjoyed my first trip there today, and thought it was a very nice, pleasant theater...much more sophisticated and less rowdy than your typical "pop" theater. (Their snack bar includes an espresso bar...very cool).

I looked up what was showing and decided to see the film "Last Train Home" with my brother and a friend. This is a documentary film about a Chinese migrant family and the sacrifices, struggles, and hardships that they endure in order to support their children as factory workers. While the parents work thousands of miles away in the city at a grueling, crowded clothing factory, their son and daughter live in the farm with their grandmother who raises them and sees that they are diligent with their studies.

The story particularly focuses on the coming of age of the rebellious teenager daughter whose bitterness towards her absent parents drives her to runaway from her studies in the country and seek her independence as a factory worker herself. Meanwhile, the parents struggle with their guilt and sorrow at the sacrifices they have had to make in order to provide for their children: they have to slave away in the city and only can see their children once a year during the New Years Holiday. The utter chaos and desperation that these migrant workers experience is exemplified most starkly during their journey back to their families. The movie is titled "Last Train Home", because every year during the holiday 130 million migrant workers desperately wait and struggle to get train tickets back to see their loved ones in the countryside.

This movie is poignant and painful to watch as it depicts the deplorable conditions in which these migrant workers must live, and the sacrifices they have to make in order for their families to survive. It also depicts the tension between generations, each with their own ideas of success and independence. The parents in this family are focused singularly on how well their children do in school; for them they see education as the only way for their children to live a better life. But their harsh expectations for their children undercut their ability to communicate love and affirmation that their children desperately need.

A very chilling, but eye-opening documentary, this film is definitely incredibly thought provoking. It begs the question, at what cost does the Western world obtain so many of it's commodities? What can we do in the midst of such realities and such injustice?

The cinematography of this film is stunning. The panoramas of China's rural countryside are just breathtaking. The shots that emphasize the color and tranquility of the country are expertly juxtaposed with the dark, dank shots of the cities to exemplify the contrast and interdependence of the two worlds.

More than anything, this film portrays the way that this economic and social system in a communist China tears them apart, and the struggles that they face when piece their families back together during the one time each year when they are reunited. As one of the migrant workers on the train says, "We are away from our family all year long. If we cannot spend the holiday together, it would be pointless." So we are shown the sacrifice it takes for these migrant workers to make money for their families, while at the same time seeing the heart wrenching cost that this separation itself requires.