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‘Youth (Hard Times)’ Review: Wang Bing’s Labor Documentary Sequel Disorients With a Purpose
'Youth (Hard Times), the second entry in Wang Bing's documentary trilogy of textile worker studies, is a long haul but a refined one.
Garment labor in the wake of China’s textile boom has long been a fixation for Wang, whose 2016 doc “ Bitter Money ” follows migrant worker struggles, and whose subsequent museum installation “15 Hours” unfolds in a clothing factory over a single, 900-minute take. He captures shirtless men in the sweltering summer slaving over winter jackets they’ll never afford, or prospective couples denied the chance to explore romantic and sexual tensions — given the lack of time and space — working on crotchless lingerie. A stray shot of a visiting middle-aged relative with cotton balls stuffed in her nose (for reasons unexplained; perhaps the stench of sweat or clutter) calls to mind the process of embalming corpses in many countries, including China.
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