Last Train Home by Lixin Fan
Last Train Home is a documentary about a family that is living through the reality of China’s Hukou system. The parents moved away to work in a factory and provide a better life for their kids back home. However, their daughter does not see the sacrifices her parents are making and has a strained relationship with them. The parents only want to see their daughter get an education back home so they she does not continue down the same path they are on. This movie does a few things, it shows the trauma that can happen when a family is separated, it also follows the mass migration that happens around Lunar New Year and provides a picture of what life is like under the Hukou system. I use this during our migration unit to show the mass migration during lunar New Year. I also use this documentary during our population unit to show how the Hukou system was a method used to control population. I am also planning on using this as an example to show China’s rapid industrialization.