The Iron Ministry
The Iron Ministry, which is directed by Verena Paravel and J.P. Sniadecki, is about the trains of modern China. Some of these trains are very old and rickety. Others are very new, fast, and flashy. All are linked into one movement through the film's 82 minutes. Sometimes the train stops, and people carrying fruits, vegetables, pots and pans board one by one. There is even a butcher's shop on this train. The liver of some large mammal hangs from the ceiling. Below it, a woman stretches and folds a sheet of fat. On another section of this national train, there is a conversation between men, one of whom is a Hui Muslim. He is complimented for speaking fluent Chinese. He is also asked to explain why his religion produces such perfect monsters as Osama bin Laden. China, he is told, wants peace for all and equality with minorities. This conversation goes nowhere.
There are other people on the train, other stories. There is some sadness in all of this talking, butchering, eating, smoking, and dreaming ("I heard Hangzhou is a beautiful city... I will see for myself," says a young factory worker as she looks out the window). China is a country that doesn't seem to know where it is going and is slowly forgetting where it came from. by Charles Mudede
There are other people on the train, other stories. There is some sadness in all of this talking, butchering, eating, smoking, and dreaming ("I heard Hangzhou is a beautiful city... I will see for myself," says a young factory worker as she looks out the window). China is a country that doesn't seem to know where it is going and is slowly forgetting where it came from. by Charles Mudede