by Sachin Gandhi
West of the Tracks (Tie Qi Xu, 2003, Wang Bing): Parts I, II and III
Wang Bing is one of the best filmmakers working today yet his films are not as well known compared to other international film directors. One big reason has to do with accessibility of his films via legal channels. His films have been a fixture at many international film festivals but have found little distribution beyond the film festival circuit. Physical media of his films (DVD/Blu-Rays) are a rarity and until recently, many of his films weren’t available for streaming. Tracking down his debut film West of the Tracks was almost a seven year hunt for me.
I was first alerted to Wang Bing’s potential via a magnificent article by Robert Koehler in Cinema Scope where Koehler asks of Wang Bing’s West of the Tracks: “is there a more sublime debut in recent history?” Thus began a hunt for that film but a DVD/Blu-Ray was out of sight. That changed in 2010 when a Rotterdam Film Festival issued DVD came out. I wasn’t the only one who came across that DVD in 2010. Allan Fish posted an entry on this site in 2010 as well.
West of the Tracks, divided in three parts, highlights the decline of the Tie Xi industrial sector in Northeast China. The film requires an investment of nine hours from its viewers but it rewards those patient viewers with plenty of riches. The three parts are a great example of “Direct Cinema” where the camera patiently records everything in sight and allows viewers to listen in to all the daily noises while leaving plenty of room for us to draw our own conclusions.
The first part Rust is almost 4 hours long and is the pick of the bunch. The fly-on-the-wall camera perspective documents the workers in their factory surroundings including their break area and locker room. As a result, the film allows us to get to know each person a bit better thereby adding depth to each person’s personality. We understand their views and are not surprised to see them behave the way they do. Also, Wang Bing nicely places the camera either at table height or eye level, thereby giving the impression that the viewer is seated at a worker’s table or is standing in one corner of the room looking at the different people walking in and out.
Part II: Remnants moves the camera away from the factories into the workers’ residential quarters. Since the factories are in the process of going bankrupt and shutting down, the workers will have to be relocated as their factory provided houses will be torn down. Watching a neighbourhood in the process of destruction feels similar to Pedro Costa’s In Vanda’s Room which captures the demolition of the Fontainhas neighbourhood. The one difference between In Vanda’s Room and West of the Tracks is that while Costa confined himself mostly to just one room, Wang Bing wanders through multiple alleys and homes giving us a more complete picture and impact of the destruction. The segment also highlights how the lives of the workers’ children will be altered by the factory shutdowns.
Part III: Rail perfectly ties the film together with its comparatively brief two hour running time. The camera boards the railcars and records the workers that drive the trains to and from the factories. This perspective allows us to piece together all the lives that are dependent on the existence of the factories giving us a full sense of impact the plant shutdowns will have on the nearby surroundings.
Overall, this is a truly impressive debut film that works hard to give a complete picture of the factories and workers that once kept an economy moving. The film takes on a different meaning in 2020 when many industries have shutdown around the world and streets have emptied out. Aspects of this film including the stories of the workers can apply to other people around our planet who are impacted by the closing down of entire industries and factories.
Part I: Rust Part 1, Rust Part 2
Part II: Remnants
Part III: Rail
Five of Wang Bing’s films are available to watch via ovid.tv
Reblogged this on Ed;s Site..
Fascinating and superbly-written review, Sachin Gandhi. I have yet to experience this director, though I am aware of his recent “Dead Souls” which played at the Anthology Film Archives in New York City. Your choice is right up Mr. Fish’s wheelhouse, but you say as much providing the link.
Thanks Ricky. It has been good to see his last few films got more coverage across NY. Dead Souls is also available via ovid
Ed, thanks for reposting
Sachin, this is one of those special Hall of Fame posts that when published here have always distinguished us and as per Allan’s long term sponsorship have defined us. Allan is surely looking down smiling, affixing his stamp of approval on your cross referencing his original link to this work. Your lead-in when you mention the legal issues surrounding Bing’s availability to the public reminds of of the Philippine Lav Diaz, whose films took a long time to reach the eyes and ears of discerning cineastes. For whatever reason, and I sure am not proud of it, I have yet to explore Bing’s work though I nearly did watch DEAD SOULS when it showed (and Ricky notes this above as well) at the Anthology. Because of the length I couldn’t fit it in. You have now put the ball in our cort so to speak and I will make time to watch it. Your chronicled summary and analysis is so masterful. Bravo!
Thanks for your kind words Sam. I am glad you mention Lav Diaz. There was a time when my hunt for finding works by Wang Bing overlapped with the hunt for Pedro Costa and Lav Diaz works as well. Thankfully, all 3 directors’ films have had a better release path than more than a decade ago.
In the UK, Second Run DVDs of Costa appeared and then the Criterion box set. Some of Lav Diaz’s newer films got a DVD release and eventually mubi.com did a proper retrospective. And now thanks to ovid, an online collection of Wang Bing can be seen, although it isn’t available in all regions (North America is included).
Thanks for your review, Sachin, it’s been a while since I have seen this but it was easily the most accessible of his films. Looking back, the 2000s were an extraordinary decade for documentary in general from China with Karamay (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkO0oobweGA), Petition (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TeQQJRytag) and 1428 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhYpovrLYOU). Or Jia Zhangke’s fiction feature The World. All showing people struggling to make sense of rapid external change within an unbending political system.
Hi James, indeed those are incredible films. Zhao Liang’s Crime and Punishment was another one although that came out before Petition. In recent films, if you haven’t seen Present. Perfect, you should check it out. A different kind of commentary at what’s going on:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9585788/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_5