Last Train Home is heartbreaking, incredibly moving, and documentary film-making at its best. Director Lixin Fan forces no comment, political otherwise, as he follows the lives of two Chinese migrant workers over a period of two years. The camera is purely an observer- it's this kind of focused observational film-making that makes this film so moving and poignant.
Reality is bleak for some 130 million Chinese migrant workers who work for long hours sewing clothes in derelict factories and travel huge distances home to their families just once a year during Chinese New Year. The journey is chaotic, brutal, and the physical and emotional toll is high - but the damage it does to families is even greater. Changhua Zhang and Suqin Chen work hard to provide for a more promising future for their children. Their daughter Qin is a lonely and unfulfilled teenager who harbours much resentment towards the parents that have been largely absent from her life. She decides to quit school and become a migrant worker herself, treading that same path that her parents have worked so tirelessly to prevent.
To witness the estrangement and disconnect within the family is heart- wrenching. The camera captures expressions and scenes of humanity that speak volumes of the lifelong ordeal of China's migrant workers. While the country has reaped many benefits from its export-driven economy, it is questionable as to whether the workers, the very engine of this rising prosperity, have seen any margin of fortune themselves.
This is a human story so mercilessly gripping that it should resonate with all. How we live in the western hemisphere is directly interwoven with the lives of people halfway across the world. Last Train Home is a sharp reminder of that. This is a superbly crafted film that you need to watch.