24 City

24 City blurs the line between narrative and documentary. In Chinese (Mandarin) with subtitles, 24 City examines through testimonials the workers at a munitions factory. Director Zhang Ke Jia interviewed over 100 workers from said factory then stitched together the film using some of the workers as well as actors (like Joan Chen) reciting some of the interviewees' words.
24 City has a unique look and feel. Sometimes music swells around the visual, other times we stare at tableaux settings with the factory workers staring back at us. The stories told take place over a number of years, and no story seems set after the 1990s. The factory was closed down eventually. I don't understand enough about Chinese culture to truly have been illuminated about what's being said, or to comprehend the use of songs or other cultural references. Still 24 City makes perfect sense. People who work for a living are always at the mercy of the state.