Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (2003)

Original title

铁西区

Directed by

Wang Bing

Genre

documentary film

Country

People's Republic of China

Runtime

9h 11m

Rated

12

Rating

7.8 of 10 from 52 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary shows the slow collapse of a Chinese industrial district in the early 2000s. It follows workers and residents as factories close and unemployment spreads. The film is nine hours long and focuses on daily life in decaying spaces.

slow-burnbleakobservationalmelancholicimmersivecontemplativegrittyunhurried

What happens

Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (Mandarin: [tʰjè ɕí tɕʰý] t'yeh-shee-chuh, 铁西区, Tiě xī qū) is a 2002 Chinese documentary film by Wang Bing. Over nine hours long, the film consists of three parts: "Rust," "Remnants" and "Rails." Tie Xi Qu was filmed over the course of two years between 1999 and 2001 and details the slow decline of Shenyang's industrial Tiexi district in the midst of unemployment crisis known as "Xiagang" (meaning to step down from the post). This area was once a vibrant example of China's socialist economy. With the rise of the free market and the move towards other industries, however, the factories of Tiexi have all begun to be closed down, with them much of the district's worker-based infrastructure and social constructs. Although Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks is rarely screened due to its length, many critics have named it one of the best and most important films of the 2000s. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• All Tomorrow's Parties (2003)
• Miners, Groom, Pneumoconiosis (2019)
• Old Men (1999)
• Oxhide II (2009)
• So Long, My Son (2019)
• Petition (2009)
• Mrs. Fang (2017)
• The Long Season (2023)