American Factory

I can't decide whether or not "American Factory" is hilarious or deeply depressing.

Hilarious because it's funny to see the culture clash between working class Americans and their Chinese counterparts (the Chinese CEO on a tour of his newly acquired American factory wants the fire alarm relocated because.....well, because it just looks bad). But depressing because it highlights the new global reality that many Americans just will not accept -- automation is eliminating entire sectors of workers around the world, and you can debate all day whether or not this is a good thing or a bad thing, but what's not up for update is that it's happening either way and those that can't adapt will be left behind.

This movie also reinforced something I've noted before, which is that if you take opposing ideologies to their furthest extremes, you eventually will meet in the same place. Conservative America is absolutely horrified at the slightest hint of socialism, let alone outright Communism, and tout capitalism as one of America's guiding principles. But the Chinese company in this film shows that capitalism taken to its monstrous extreme results in a culture that might as well exist in a Communist dictatorship, where allegiance to the company substitutes for allegiance to a political leader. And faced with that, what do working class Americans want? A dose of socialism to protect them from runaway corporate interests.

Grade: A-

I never thought a documentary on an American manufacturing plant would be so interesting. I'm a Canadian and I still consider this a must-watch. Extremely interesting insight into the world of manufacturing in small-town USA as well as the cultural differences between the USA and China. The whole trip to the China factory seems surreal. Unfortunately this film's ratings might get turfed by certain political interests that would rather have this stuff swept under the rug.

Just saw this at Traverse City Film Festival. Does not sugarcoat the rust belt problem. The Chinese came to the US hoping to recharge a shuttered GM factory to build glass for autos and trucks. In return for hiring chronically unemployed in the Dayton area, they hoped that workers would participate despite low wages and unsafe working conditions given the lack of other job opportunities. The culture clash was nontrivial. Bottom line: all manufacturing jobs are threatened by automation, not just those currently held by Americans. Some cultures are willing to accept the pressure to produce, while others resist.

Simply put, I'm blown away by this film. I'm a progressive, sure, but have grown disillusioned with Obama LONG ago, and I must say that I was reluctant at first to even give it a shot based on the fact that it was produced by the Obamas. After a recommendation from a friend, I decided to bite the bullet. The result is that I'm kind of shattered. I have so many more factual questions, but learned so much, and was exposed to so many aspects of different cultures... (Should it matter, I'm a city-dwelling Canadian, for whom US policy is arguably as important as my own country's policies)... I'm also left with actual philosophical questions. Was any of it good? Was it bad? which parts? Chinese culture in their factories scared the crap out of me, but what does that mean? What does it mean about me, as well? It took me 4 hours to watch this 1h50m documentary because I kept stopping to write down thoughts and ask random questions to close friends. Not that it 'should' matter for a film that aims to inform, but the filming and DEFINITELY the soundtrack made the whole experience joyful in general. There's a lot to be said for an informative documentary that can keep people's attention, and this just became one of my favourites. I can recommend it without fear that people will just move on after 10 minutes. And I never felt that the documentary aspect was sacrificed. Highly, highly recommend it.

I didn't think I'd see a better documentary than For Sama this year, and having viewed Netflix's American Factory last night, the Oscar winner in the documentary category, I stand by that view.

However, this is a fine piece of work.

It tells the story of a Chinese windscreen-manufacturer reseeding the site of a massive General Motors factory in Dayton Ohio some three years after its closure.

The main premise of the film is that this is a meeting of two cultures, both business and anthropological, and how the rise in Chinese commercial enterprise, even deep in rust-belt, Republican USA, is a success that won't go away.

But the Chinese drive a hard bargain: much lower wages, poorer health and safety ideology, an intolerance of unions and a hard work ethic (in China overtime is compulsory, not optional).

The filmmakers - Stephen Bognar and Julia Rheichert - are seasoned pros and have an interesting technique that makes this such an agreeable watch. It's not controversial, there's little humour and there are no pyrotechnics. It's just a laconic stroll through the lives of the people on both sides of this cultural ravine, gradually exposing what it's like for each of them.

They take no sides, they critique no-one, but clearly there is stuff in here that could enrage a very large percentage of its viewers, no matter their cultural persuasion.

That's what makes it work. That and a good soundtrack and a pleasing use of cinematography.

It's not doc of the year, for me, but it IS an intelligent piece of documentary film-making that is as far from the Michael Moore one-sided tidal-wave of opinion and argument as one could get, and, for that, it is to be admired.