As a seasoned movie buff with a soft spot for documentaries that delve deep into societal issues, I must say that “Youth (Homecoming)” left me feeling both heavy-hearted and thoughtful. Having watched Wang Bing’s previous works on this trilogy, I found this film to be a poignant conclusion, encapsulating the struggles of China’s youth in the textile industry in a profoundly moving manner.
Spanning multiple years, “Youth (Homecoming)” completes Wang Bing’s detailed documentary series exploring the contours of China’s youth. With a runtime of approximately 2.5 hours, it is the shortest and most concentrated piece in the series. It provides a glimpse into life after the hum of sewing machines falls silent, and offers an unexpected, stark portrayal of what transpires when they begin to operate again.
Although each film doesn’t exactly follow a traditional sequel structure since the main subjects shift from one scene to another and even from one movie to another, the trilogy has undeniably moved in a sequential manner. “Youth (Spring)” portrayed the struggles of young textile workers at the beginning of the season, while “Youth (Hard Times)” focused on their financial hardships during the summer. Lastly, the third film depicts the desertion of Zhili’s factories as winter break nears.
The rhythmic hums of machinery draw us back into factory environments, yet now and then, there are unexpected moments of quiet. This arrangement seems practical given the work has slowed ahead of the new year, allowing numerous young workers to negotiate their overdue wages for a trip home. Nevertheless, these contrasting sounds and lingering silence create an unsettling atmosphere. They symbolize, in miniature, the recurring pattern of this seasonal labor cycle. The drudgery of work has grown so pervasive that it seems impossible to escape, even during breaks. The quiet is as oppressive as the noise.
Unlike the first two movies that present numerous new characters at frequent intervals, some indistinguishable from each other – a humorous commentary on the series – “Youth (Homecoming)” focuses on just two individuals: Shi Wei and Fang Lingping. These characters are preparing to return home to marry their loved ones during their breaks. Any additional characters that appear are presented as related to these two, such as “Shi Wei’s mother” or “Fang Lingping’s brother.”
The packaging significantly contributes to shaping people’s individual identities and personalities into uniformity. Wang’s mobile camera functions like the factories themselves, maintaining vigilance over subjects in confined areas, long after they exit the manufacturing zone. The packed train journeys home are cramped, and some of the homes and villages share a similar sterile, white fluorescent lighting as their dilapidated city dormitories. Upon returning to Zhili, it seems as though the workers have never actually left, as the transition back is presented so casually that it’s almost imperceptible.
If the secondary characters in the movie are essentially reflections of Wei and Lingping, who are bound by their roles as migrant workers, it implies that the oppressive system they’re caught in has no end. For example, Lingping’s husband, who originally worked in IT, is compelled to assist her at the factory, causing tension in their relationship. Interviews with family members back in the countryside offer insight into the lives and hardships of China’s rural poor, revealing a mix of happiness and celebration, but always with the specter of enterprise lurking nearby.
As a cinephile, I found “Youth (Homecoming)” to be a film that at times leaves you feeling profoundly melancholic. The constant noise and bustle in the city become an ever-present, dismal normality that Wei seems to have resigned himself to from the get-go. Despite his frequent phone calls to employers chasing his overdue paycheck, he still manages to exclaim, “As long as there’s work, there’s life!”
The film “Youth (Homecoming)” is a poignant standalone piece, expressing a profound sorrow over how deeply industrial life has permeated people, making them seem almost indistinguishable from the machines they operate. Yet, it also serves as a concluding chapter to the series, with its biting ironies and narrative progression rooted in the preceding installments. The earlier films such as “Youth (Spring)” and “Youth (Hard Times)” presented life and laughter, defiance, and struggle respectively. In Wang’s final entry, workers are portrayed as striving to break free from the clutches of capitalist drudgery, which has shaped them so profoundly that it feels like an integral part of their identity. Their return to the confined Zhili dormitories symbolizes a homecoming, where they find solace amidst their work and life.
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2024-09-06 15:16