Metro Cinema Society: Doc Soup: Last Train Home

Doc Soup: Last Train Home

Canada 2009, 85 min, 35mm, Dir: Lixin Fan

“If there is just one film to watch from IDFA this year, it would likely be Last Train Home” (IndieWIRE)

Every spring, China’s cities are plunged into chaos, as all at once, a tidal wave of humanity attempts to return home by train. It is the Chinese New Year. The wave is made up of millions of migrant factory workers. The homes they seek are the rural villages and families they left behind to seek work in the booming coastal cities. It is an epic spectacle that tells us much about China, a country discarding traditional ways as it hurtles towards modernity and global economic dominance. An emotionally engaging and visually beautiful debut film from Chinese-Canadian director Lixin Fan, Last Train Home draws us into the fractured lives of a single migrant family caught up in this desperate annual migration. In classic cinema verité style, the film paints a human portrait of the dramatic changes sweeping China, following the Zhangs’ attempts to navigate through the stark and difficult choices of a society caught between old ways and new realities. Can they get ahead and still undo some of the damage that has been done to their family? The director, Lixin Fan, will be in attendance for the screening.

WINNER!- Best Feature-Length Documentary, IDFA

Admission with Doc Soup subscription, Single tickets: $10 at door