The Last Train Home: A Movie Directed by Lixin Fan

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Unlike Westerners, New Year is extremely important in Asian countries. It is a chance to reunite with one’s family after a period of time. Thus, many people, no matter what they do, will try to make time to come back home on this special event. In China, with the overwhelming population, more than 130 million migrant workers try to get back to their home villages. This is the result of the half industrialization process, where the country is caught between its rural agriculture past and rapid economic development present. “Last train home,” a movie directed by Lixin Fan, sheds a light on the difference between the rural and urban areas. At the same time, the movie secretly makes the viewers wonder what they should do if they are in the character’s shoe. The first portion of this essay will try to cover the difference between the rural and urban areas, ranging from physical landscape to lifestyles. Meanwhile, the second half of this essay will express my viewpoint, what I would do, if I am the parents in the movie.
The film begins with a paved empty lot. However, as the camera pans, a sea of people behind barriers can be seen. The noises, the amount of people who are struggling to stand makes the scenario seems like the beginning of a riot. Yet, they are all merely trying to get tickets to get back home. Among those migrant workers, there are two characters, a husband and a wife named Zhang Changhua and Chen Suqin respectively. They left their little children in Huilong for the grandparents to take care and moved to Guangzhou city. When they left, their first born daughter was only a child. As the parents later share with the director, they were left with “no choice” but to leave their children.
Nevertheless, the difference betwee...

... middle of paper ...

... cannot do it. If the wife decides to leave, this decision will make Changhua becomes the sole support of the family as well. They barely are able to support the old family. Even for riches, babies still cost a reasonable amount of money. For the poor, now, with a new member, it puts more pressure on them.
Therefore, one should put his or herself into the position of other before making a judgment. The movie, “Last train home,” does not merely describe the differences between rural and urban areas. It also tells the struggles and the choices that poor people have to make at the same time. However, as many different considerations are being taken into account, the decision is not always as simple as choosing whether it is a right or a wrong choice. If I am the parents who have to take care of my family, under those circumstances, perhaps I would do the same as well.

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