The 8 Most Thought-Provoking Documentaries Ever Made about China
8部最引人深思的中文纪录片
YOUR ULTIMATE WATCHLIST FOR CHINESE DOCUMENTARIES
We’ve compiled a list of eight documentaries that we think made a big impact on either the viewers or Chinese society. Some of them are raved by movie critics, like Last Train Home. Other documentaries triggered social debates in their time, such as Under the Dome and China. A few had an immense global influence, such as American Factory. Some of which are visually exciting and aesthetically entertaining, like Sky Ladder.
Our criteria for choosing these documentaries are not solely based on their popularity nor the filmmaker's fame. But on how strongly they resonate with the audience and the authenticity of the film. The last film on the list, No Way Home, was shot by a young college student on his DSLR camera. He was then merely an amateur filmmaker that simply wanted to document a family trip. His name can’t compare to other filmmakers on the list. However, the integrity of the film makes it evermore sophisticated and moving.
Many of these documentaries coincide with one another, such as Sky Ladder and Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, Last Train Home, and No Way Home. When a country distilled by both Confucianism and communism runs at its full speed, the social repercussions will inevitably emerge. All the films on this list are absolutely worth watching if you care to look deeply into the different aspects of modern China.
1. Last Train Home
中文名：《归途列车》
The Last Train Home is a 2009 documentary directed by Fan Lixin (范立新), a Chinese-Canadian. The theme of the film centers around Spring Festival. A time when the world witnesses the greatest migration of the year. The film follows the Zhang family for three years, they are migrant workers from Sichuan. They visit their relatives once a year only during the Spring Festival. The documentary gives us a close look into the lives of migrant workers.
On Rotten Tomatoes, in the limited release movie, the film won the "Golden Tomato" award with a 100% praise rate. In addition, the film won the Best Documentary Film Award at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and the Best Documentary Film Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association in 2010.
Our rating: 9.5
Where to watch it: Amazon Prime
2. The Chinese Mayor
中文名：《大同》
Once a prosperous city, Shanxi Datong (山西大同) is now a ghost town. The mayor of this city, Geng Yanbo (耿彦波) is determined to restore the old city with a five-year municipal reconstruction plan. The lens focuses on Geng Yanbo. His extreme restoration plan projects will require the demolition of 100,000 homes, the relocation of 500,000 people, and the restoration of city walls with a 1,600 year-old-history. Petitions and appeals from various groups oppose him.
Following the shooting of director Zhou Hao (周浩) into Datong's streets, it is a general inspection of the vision in the city's future potential. This intense film brings light to the complexity of the political strife for the Communist party to possess control over Datong. The film's American premiere took place at the Sundance Festival, where it was awarded a Special Jury Award for Unparalleled Access.
Our rating: 9.5
Where to watch it: Youtube
3. American Factory
中文名：《美国工厂》
Technically speaking, this documentary is not about China but an American manufacturing town. The film has gained so much popularity since its release. It is based on how a Chinese company tries to integrate into American culture. Therefore, we feel that it isn't a bad idea to put it on the list! Plus, it’s an Academy Award-winning documentary presented by Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground Productions.
The film is set in the context of the 2008 financial crisis, the collapse of GM’s plant in Ohio, and the depression of an entire community. It tells the story of China Fuyao Glass Group (福耀集团), taking over an abandoned General Motors plant in Ohio, transforming it into a glass-making plant, and hiring thousands of blue-collar American employees.
American Factory is a documentary distributed by Netflix. When "American Factory" was filmed, directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichter realized upon editing that they should film the Chinese workers during the acquisition of the Fuyao plant. However, since they did not understand Chinese, they were unable to communicate with the 200 Chinese workers in Fuyao. After a year of filming, they recognized that this was a great deficiency. So they found two Chinese filmmakers, Zhang Yiqian and Li Mijie to help them understand Chinese corporate culture, customs, ways of thinking, and history.
On December 3, 2019, American Factory won the Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Documentary Film. On January 26, 2020, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert won the Best Documentary Film Director for the 72nd American Directors Guild Awards of American Factory.
Our rating: 9.0
Where to watch it: Netflix
4. Under the Dome
中文名：《柴静雾霾调查：穹顶之下 同呼吸 共命运》
After leaving CCTV, former television host, Chai Jing (柴静), takes on the challenge of filming a large-scale in-depth public welfare investigation on air pollution. The documentary was released on February 28, 2015. Within 48 hours, the total number of times the video has been played exceeded 200 million.
To complete this difficult investigation, Chai Jing traveled to China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. She also began to independently film and edit videos with her companions. More importantly, this investigation was an investment of all her money. After bidding farewell to CCTV, choosing to make this documentary surprised the public and made them wary of her intentions. Chai Jing said: "This was not planned. At that time, my daughter was sick therefore I plan to spend a considerable amount of time with her and take care of her after I resign. I've rejected all job offers. In the process of taking care of her, the feeling of smog became stronger and stronger. "
In this 103-minute long film, Chai Jing visited multiple polluted cities to find the root causes of smog and took photos of pollution control in many countries. Her investigation on smog is considered to be "a survey of smog conducted by non-institutions and non-journalists with the most authoritative sources, the most dimensional information, the broadest horizon, the most abundant means, and the most sense of action." At the exchange site, Chai Jing comprehensively used the four major methods of public speaking, live demonstration, video display, and network communication to analyze the four major problems of coal and fuel oil that caused severe atmospheric pollution to China.
Our rating: 7.5
Where to watch it: Youtube
5. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
中文名：《艾未未：道歉你妹》
This documentary film was shot by American director Alison Klayman. It closely examines Ai Weiwei's (艾未未) art and political activities. After the film was released in 2012, it was well-received by critics and won awards at film festivals such as Sundance.
Ai Weiwei is 62 years old and is the son of the famous poet Ai Qing (艾青). During his youth, the Ai family was politically in a disadvantaged position. After the Cultural Revolution, Ai Weiwei entered the film academy and later spent 10 years in New York. He returned to China in 1993 and soon became the leader of the avant-garde art movement. He was hired as a design consultant for the 2008 Beijing Olympics Bird's Nest Stadium, but it was in 2008 that he broke off with the government, criticizing the Olympics as a "smirk" and criticizing the government's measures in the Sichuan earthquake.
The film has received a positive response, and its freshness in rotten tomatoes is 98%. New York Times commentator Manola Dages called the film "inspiring". Ai Weiwei, the protagonist of the documentary, called it "plain and direct." He said: "It is not to promote anything. It just shows the truth of something that happened."
Our question after watching the film. Is Ai Weiwei more of an artist or a political activist?
Our rating: 7.5
Where to watch it: Amazon
6. Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-qiang
中文名：《天梯：蔡国强的艺术》
Known for his spectacular pyrotechnic displays, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang (蔡国强) creates his most ambitious project—the Sky Ladder. This breathtaking film reveals the story of Cai Guo-Qiang's journey from Quanzhou (泉州) to the international stage in the 1980s, as well as the creation story of the "Ladder" that took more than 20 years and numerous tries to succeed.
The documentary also explores other spheres behind his spectacular art such as inner fragility, struggle, compromise, and deep feelings for his family, hometown, and motherland. Directed by Oscar-winner Kevin Macdonald, this awe-inspiring and visually entertaining film received a Sundance Grand Jury Prize nomination.
Our rating: 8.5
Where to watch it: Netflix
7. Chung Kuo, Cina (1972)
中文名：《中国》 (米开朗基罗·安东尼奥尼)
In 1972, the nearly 60-year-old Italian legendary film master Michelangelo Antonioni (米开朗基罗·安东尼奥尼) recorded daily life in China with unique rationality. This is the real 1972 China under the lens of Antonioni. There is no praise, no criticism, and no speculation. It meticulously conveys a filmmaker’s perception of an unfamiliar environment. The camera has set its sights on a wide range of places such as hospitals, factories, schools, and agriculture. There is simply no richer video material to reflect what China used to look like than this.
China consists of three parts. The first part was filmed in Beijing, showing students from a primary school, old areas of the city, a c-section using acupuncture and moxibustion, and a cotton mill and its workers. The second part visited some Henan collective farms and the ancient city of Suzhou. The last part is about Shanghai's docks and factories. Remember that 1972 was before China opened its doors to international visitors. As an Italian filmmaker, the footage he shot is immensely valuable and rare.
Our rating: 8.5
Where to watch it: Youtube (1st Half of the Movie), Youtube (2nd Half of the Movie)
8. No Way Home
中文名：《回家》
The last film on the list, No Way Home, was shot on a DSLR camera and edited in a dorm by a young man who was about to graduate from college. This film is about his family’s journey during the Chinese New Year, and how his city-dwelling sisters try to adapt to village life. The tension between rural and urban, young and old, eastern and western makes this amateur-made film internally and externally sophisticated and intriguing. You might even shed a few tears after watching the whole film.
The camera slowly zooms in on the fields and hills covered with a layer of mist falling on the thin shoulders of an old man walking on the field ridge. A 23-year-old Chongqing filmmaker Li Jiale (李嘉乐), used his lens, to record his family returning from Guangzhou to Chongqing. The joys and sorrows of the New Year in his hometown evoked countless feelings of homesickness.
Our question after watching it is: will you stop feeling homesick even after you're back home? Or, maybe we all have a home that we can’t return to, just like the English title of the film—No Way Home.
Our rating: 8.0
Where to watch it: 腾讯视频
Subtitles: Chinese
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