Rick, Post 3, Movie Review - "24 City"

"If the aeronautics factory is like a huge eyeball, the laboring is its pupil." -poem by Quang Jianghe

"24 City" is a story about people who worked at a state-owned Chinese airplane factory in Chengdu that is being closed. At a time when layoffs and businesses closing their doors hits close to home for an American, I thought this film would offer an interesting depiction of modern-day China, particularly the lives of working class Chinese citizens. I also wanted to pick a recent movie ("24 City" was released in 2008) to get a better idea of what China is like today.

The movie is shot like a documentary. People of various ages give interviews about their time in Factory 420. I thought the entire movie was an actual documentary, but some scenes apparently were filmed with actors while others were real.

I thought the movie's major theme is China is changing and modernizing, which means some people are being left behind. One woman, along with many others, was let go because the factory no longer needed so many workers. She received a small severance and was unable to find work for a long time, eventually resorting to illegally selling flowers to make money. She is now retired and sews for extra money because "people who work age more slowly."

Another older woman goes to an employment agency and is surprised to find the young female staffer wearing make-up. A man reminisces about being pressured to take his father's place in the factory in lieu of going to college because they made good wages, only to have the factory close in his middle age.

One thing I found interesting was the way Chinese people viewed "Yanks" during the Korean War, when Factory 420 was running at full capacity manufacturing aircraft engines and repairing damaged fighter planes. One of the characters discussed how they were fighting against American imperialism, which is likely very different from how many Americans perceived the war.

I think one of key lessons I learned from this film is although American and Chinese cultures differ in many significant ways, most people want the same things out of life: a safe place to live and decent jobs to provide for their families. While watching this movie, I thought of all the American factory workers, such as auto industry workers, who went through something similar. Losing your job hurts, no matter what country you're in.

I think "24 City" is a good movie. The characters told interesting, poignant stories, and the cinematography is great. Furthermore, it gives a taste of what China is like in the modern age and helped me understand where the country came from and where it's going.