Opening this Friday, September 3: LAST TRAIN HOME
Documentary programmers, press, and industryites attending IDFA last Fall were abuzz after viewing Lixin Fan’s film, which went on to have its North American premiere in the World Cinema Competition at Sundance. Capturing in heartbreaking detail the sacrifices many Chinese rural villagers have had to make to provide for their families, the film follows one couple amongst 130 million migrant workers who make an annual holiday visit from the city where they spend virtually the entire year back to their home village to see the children they’ve left behind.
Fan establishes a powerful intimacy with his subjects – so much so that, in a pivotal scene, the audience is usually left gasping at what they’re bearing witness to, powerless to intervene and pained to see the fracturing of a family. In years to come, LAST TRAIN HOME may very well be recognized as a new classic among world documentaries.
Update: indieWIRE has a great interview with Fan for their FUTURES column here.
what (not) to doc 