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Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks - Part 3: Rails
Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks - Part 3: Rails
9.2
/10
203 Ratings

TIE XI QU: WEST OF THE TRACKS - PART 3: RAILS

Tiexi qu

Directed by Wang Bing
China, 2002
Documentary

Synopsis

9 hour long film that details the slow decline of Shenyang’s industrial Tiexi district, an area that was once a vibrant example of China’s socialist economy. This third part narrows its focus to a single father and son who scavenge the rail yards in order to sell raw parts to the factories.

Synopsis

9 hour long film that details the slow decline of Shenyang’s industrial Tiexi district, an area that was once a vibrant example of China’s socialist economy. This third part narrows its focus to a single father and son who scavenge the rail yards in order to sell raw parts to the factories.

Our take

Following Rust and Remnants, the great Chinese documentarian Wang Bing concludes this panoramic long-form masterpiece with Rails: a heartbreaking close-up on a state-owned railway track linking two Tiexi factories, and the two men—a father and son—dependent upon it for their survival.