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- 2015
- Not Rated
- Icarus Films
- 1 h 22 m
- 2015
- Not Rated
- Icarus Films
- 1 h 22 m
Summary Filmed over three years on China’s railways, The Iron Ministry traces the vast interiors of a country on the move: flesh and metal, clangs and squeals, light and dark, language and gesture. Scores of rail journeys come together into one, capturing the thrills and anxieties of social and technological transformation.
- 2015
- Not Rated
- Icarus Films
- 1 h 22 m
- 2015
- Not Rated
- Icarus Films
- 1 h 22 m
The Iron Ministry
76
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
Where to Watch
Summary Filmed over three years on China’s railways, The Iron Ministry traces the vast interiors of a country on the move: flesh and metal, clangs and squeals, light and dark, language and gesture. Scores of rail journeys come together into one, capturing the thrills and anxieties of social and technological transformation.
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
76
88% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
76
88% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The Iron Ministry is neither boring nor confining, which is just to say that it’s not a long trip through a faraway country. It’s a work of art — vivid and mysterious and full of life.
It's always political when regular people speak plainly about their circumstances — here, it's also moving, revelatory, and often funny, offering plenty to mull over during the long shots of train workers trundling their food carts.
The Iron Ministry turns the chaos of modern China into dense, frantic poetry.
A pungently immersive evocation of traveling on Chinese trains.
Though J.P. Sniadecki doesn't elucidate any broad structural motive, his film gradually adopts an engrossing rhythm among its clatter of steel and ambient chatter.
While cerebral in intent and planning, the pic doesn’t feel overly straitjacketed by theory and offers unexpected moments of amusement.
Filmmaker J.P. Sniadecki withholds judgment and resists editorializing, but the result is frustratingly nebulous and devoid of context.
User Reviews
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Production Company
Cinder Films
Release Date Aug 21, 2015
Duration 1 h 22 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
Awards
Camden International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Locarno International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
Chicago International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination