Youth (Hard Times)

Wang Bing, China, 2024, 227 mins

Youth (Hard Times) is the second installment in Wang Bing’s monumental series chronicling the lives of migrant garment workers in the Zhili district of Huzhou City. Wang immerses himself in the lives of these workers, as they try to find potential dates, negotiate better piece-work rates with bosses, and sew, sew, sew, everything from padded jackets, to jeans, to pillows. While the film captures a sense of their struggles, it also highlights a growing solidarity. But the workers recognize — as the film’s sole interview makes clear — that ultimately they are up against the forces of capital and the state, and those forces won’t hesitate to crush them if it thinks they are getting too far out of line.

Time: 7:30pm