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‘Youth (Homecoming)’ Review: A Despondent Coda to a Rich Textile Trilogy
The shortest and most focused entry in Wang Bing's documentary trilogy on China's workers, "Youth (Homecoming)" is also the most reflective.
At two-and-a-half hours in length, it’s the project’s shortest and most focused entry, offering a look at what happens once the rattle of sewing machines finally ceases, followed by a stark and surprising look at what unfolds once they start back up again. Unlike the first two films, which introduce dozens of new workers at regular intervals — many of them interchangeable, which is the series’ mordant point — “Youth (Homecoming)” follows two people in particular: Shi Wei and Fang Lingping, both of whom are headed home to marry their respective partners during their time off. Further interviews with family members back home, both old and young, flesh out the lives and struggles of China’s rural poor; while there’s plenty of joy and celebration to be found, the looming hand of enterprise is never far behind.
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