The Iron Ministry

Director: J.P. Sniadecki
Year Released: 2014
Rating: 2.0

Sniadecki claims he spent two years recording passengers on various trains in China doing the following: spitting on the floor, selling products, slicing up meat, smoking, sleeping and sometimes making small talk with each other. It's one of those Empty Blackboard thesis movies where he places words like "China" and "overpopulation" and "industry" and "government" and waits for his audience to actually develop the 'narrative' (if any) in their own minds: sorry, but a brief conversation about Islam, a mention of Tibet and a bunch of guys complaining about their mothers doesn't lead to a whole lot. One could very easily have taken various subways in New York City and waited for people to mention "9/11," "Wall Street," "the 1%" and maybe even "De Blasio versus Bloomberg" and come up with a similar result. Still, the rumbling of the trains is mesmerizing and I was shocked at how much rubbish accumulated on the floor (I guess with that many people, standard garbage cans just won't cut it).