Last Train Home

I enjoyed this movie. It is a very eye opening take on what life is like for migrant workers in modern China. This movie tracks a set of parents as they are trying to get home for the Chinese New Year, along with ~150 million other Chinese citizens for their once a year visit to their children, and also the difficultly of dealing with a daughter who decides to follow in their footsteps. By my estimation anyone who hasn’t seen this movie or isn’t studying this area wouldn’t have any clue the lengths people are going through in China to be able to make money and provide for their families but also be able to try and stay in touch with them.
I think this movie would be appropriate possibly for a high school setting that may be studying modern US policy because there could be some very good parallels drawn between what’s happening here and the immigrant worker situation in the US. The movie can be a bit dry because there is no narration and the only story is given by the family members, so students may have a hard time staying interested.

I enjoyed this movie. It is a very eye opening take on what life is like for migrant workers in modern China. This movie tracks a set of parents as they are trying to get home for the Chinese New Year, along with ~150 million other Chinese citizens for their once a year visit to their children, and also the difficultly of dealing with a daughter who decides to follow in their footsteps. By my estimation anyone who hasn’t seen this movie or isn’t studying this area wouldn’t have any clue the lengths people are going through in China to be able to make money and provide for their families but also be able to try and stay in touch with them.
I think this movie would be appropriate possibly for a high school setting that may be studying modern US policy because there could be some very good parallels drawn between what’s happening here and the immigrant worker situation in the US. The movie can be a bit dry because there is no narration and the only story is given by the family members, so students may have a hard time staying interested.

Last Train Home is a startling glimpse into modern Chinese culture and is, in fact, two documentaries in one.
The first documentary is exactly what the what the text on the DVD cover indicates, a look at the world's largest worker migration in the world. 130 million migrant workers going home for Chinese New Year, in words only, fails to convey the scale and the power of this movement of people. The documentary takes the viewer on a journey with the human tidal wave of Chinese trying to return home to celebrate Chinese New Year with their families.
The hidden documentary looks at the stresses placed on the traditional family and their values by the current economic climate in China. Grandma is raising the children on the farm while the parents are in the working in the city to try and provide for the family. When calling or visiting home, the parents are focused on Qin and Yang's grades in school, convinced that education is the key to a better life. Qin is resentful, and eventually leaves school and goes to work herself.
I highly recommend this documentary as a telling indication of the current stresses on the Chinese working class, largely as a result of Western manufacturing exports. Sadly, no solution seems easily attained to easing the cultural stresses present and it the changes rapidly affecting traditional Chinese family values.
There is one scene in the middle that one would consider before showing to a public school classroom, when the rebellious daughter Qin and her parents have an argument that ends in physical violence and inappropriate language.