“Last Train Home” is a PBS documentary about a migrant family in China. It follows the parents in the city and their children in the countryside for 3 years, documenting in intimate and heartbreaking detail how the family struggles under the pressure of distance, culture, and globalization.
It is an incredible film: insightful, engaging, and, most of all, humanizing. Watch it, if only to see what 130 million people traveling back home at the same time looks like.
But don’t take my word for it. For example, read how the New York Times and Roger Ebert reviewed it. Or maybe aggregate scores will convince you: Rotten Tomatoes (100%), Metacritic (86%), and IMDB (7.6/10).
Below is the full film, but the audio seems out of sync:
I suggest streaming it from Netflix or Amazon instead.
P.S.: I’m traveling to China for Lu’s wedding on Tuesday. I’ll be there 2 weeks. Will report about the trip on the blog after my return.