Youth (Hard Times)

Human stories are brought to the surface in this shattering middle instalment of Wang Bing’s trilogy about the lives of exploited sweatshop workers. Life moves on, yet time seems to stand still for the overworked and underpaid live-in garment factory workers of Zhili’s industrial district. Trapped in the industrial drudgery of their sweatshop setting, these rural youths try to maintain their humanity and dignity in the face of grim labour conditions, the ongoing erosion of their personal liberties and failed attempts at getting a pay rise – or, even, just getting paid at all. Wang Bing (’Til Madness Do Us Part, MIFF 2014) shot 2600 hours of footage across a five-year period for his Youth triptych, working with legendary editor Dominique Auvray (Koko: A Talking Gorilla) to piece together three distinct long-form documentaries. This monumental middle chapter – which continues on the themes of Youth (Spring) (MIFF 2023) and lays the groundwork for Youth (Homecoming), which is also screening at this year’s festival – features some of his most heartbreaking and intimate observational footage yet. Winning two awards and a special mention at Locarno, this documentary epic is a powerful instalment in one of cinema’s most ambitious works of nonfiction. “Continuing his monumental Youth trilogy, following the lives of young migrant laborers in the Yangtze Delta garment region … Youth (Hard Times) evolves Wang’s ideas about labor and humanity in a way that is paradoxically both darker and lighter.” – Paste