★★★★
In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand blue-collar Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.
Classification: 12
An incredible examination of the changing landscape of business, workforces, and a portrait not only of a Chinese-American business venture but of how the American middle class is still recovering from the financial crisis of 2008. With in-depth access to the development and management of the Fuyao Glass America company in Dayton, Ohio, American Factory navigates its stories over the last few years as the dream of foreign investment reviving a downtrodden community and industry faces obstacles stemming from cultural differences. Directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert portray the developing storylines very naturally, creating an immersive documentary that captures many candid moments and growing pains for the company. While the difference between American and Chinese work ethics is presented and sold as an opportunity for education and opportunity, throughout the film the relationships begin to sour as an ideological war begins between American workers and Chinese management.
Bognar and Reichert aren't trying to cast heroes and villains in this story, every side is presented with ample coverage and has their views explained. Time is taken to show how the personal ideals of two great nations are similar yet so different. The Chinese company Fuyao seeks efficiency, profit and will accept little to no fault in achieving these goals, the American workers of Ohio are just seeking honest work and to rebuild what they lost. There is a shadow that looms over American Factory, several omens in fact as the filmmakers recognise that the glory days of American industrialism is over, effectively destroyed by outsourcing factories and labour, automation, and the financial crisis crippling the middle class of America. The film's depiction of the American workers of Fuyao Glass America shows a plethora of individuals skilled in their fields just trying to maintain a sense of security in their lives rather than strive for maximum efficiency and profit. The directors, however, show both sides, the workers may feel intimated by Chinese work standards but American Factory also shows how business works in China.
When comparing the structure of a factory run in China to one in America during this documentary, the differences are staggering and favour the Chinese methods incredibly well. There is honour in pursuing what's best for the company and the Chinese workers do not indulge in the same luxuries as American culture. When a visiting American supervisor tries to joke with his Chinese counterpart about the lack of productivity with his workforce in the USA, his counterpart finds very little humour in his issues and advises him to take on the methodology of the Chinese workforce for better results. Bognar and Reichert's ability to capture moments like this show how American Factory is slowly unveiling a brewing culture clash that will lead to one idea of thinking to prevail. As the film isn't trying to create a pro-American or pro-Chinese narrative with its runtime but displaying the honest thoughts and fears of its subjects. American and Chinese workers can form friendships and work together well and some in the documentary say that their experiences with Fuyao were a positive one despite developments later in the film.
There is no individual at-fault within the story of American Factory, it is easy to pick a side based on political ideology or social class but this is a film that explores a lot of ideas that reflect the changing landscape of world industry. The story of Fuyao Glass America within the documentary can be seen as a clear metaphor for current geopolitical politics, America the once-mighty leader of the world now crippled must concede to China, a new powerful growing superpower. The culture clash that ripples throughout the film is responsible not only for tense arguments about labour laws, workers rights and the cost of product quality against efficiency but also real moments of comedy. Some moments can almost feel like they came out of The Office from Chairman Cao Dewang wanting fire alarms and garage doors moved for aesthetic reasons against American building guidelines to large expensive signs having incorrect grammar. It makes the filmmaking of the documentary feel far more real, that the directors spent years finding this story and slowing building it rather than focusing on one specific angle.
Throughout the film murmurs and whispers are spoken within the Fuyao Glass America factory about unionising. Time and time again both Chinese and American executives state that the company will not unionise but with low wages, on-site accidents and clear priority of profit over people this becomes the spark that ignites the growing tensions between the Chinese and American workers. The directors juxtapose many different meetings, one filled with American workers being pitched on joining the Union, to secure benefits and job safety where within the meeting with the Chinese workers it becomes all about "How to manage American workers?". Despite all the good intentions from both sides, American Factory is the story of a tragedy, of how both sides tried to force their way of thinking on the other and not finding a compromise to allow both cultures to prosper. It almost becomes tribal, "my way or the highway" and while it would be easy to pick a side and root against someone, the film displays the thought processes of all involved showing the issues are far complicated.
The style of documentary is extremely enveloping, events develop before the camera with very little reliance on reflective talking head interviews of putting a lot of the film within contextual text. The interviews conducted within the film are very personal and in the moment, capturing raw emotion from both American and Chinese participants. While the main narrative revolves around the differences between the two peoples, the film finds great moments to show and celebrate the strengths of each culture. Why it may be easy to criticise American business practices or the communist ideology of the Chinese, American Factory always commits itself displaying the most complete picture for its audience. The suffering and persistence of both sides show how common ground is possible between two cultures, with one Chinese national remarking that the lifestyle of his American co-workers is far from the glamorous stories he was told in China.
American Factory offers a bleak look to the future, of how wealth is being prioritised over welfare and that despite the best efforts of many, the idea of a prosperous workforce will only come with great sacrifice. While the film doesn't try and present a villain for audiences to blame for Fuyao Glass America, it can be easy to just get angry at the prosperous, the wealthy that are responsible for the worker's hardships but the film doesn't lose sight of all the complicated pieces that created the situation within the film. It is an ideological war with years of baggage, tradition and routine going head to head with the same concepts but with different context and history. This documentary could have just been a simple accounting of a union fight in Dayton, Ohio but Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert delve deep into the stories of the locals, the executives, the emigrated workers, finds their voices and gives opportunity for this story to speak not only to this particular issue but to issues that have plagued America for the last decade and decades past.
Director: #StevenBognar and #JuliaReichert
Cast: #CaoDewang, #JunmingWang, #DaveBurrows, #JohnGauthier, #RobHaerr, #CynthiaHarper, #WongHe, #JillLamantia, #JeffDaochuanLiu, #ShawneaRosser, #RebeccaRuanOShaughnessy
Release Date: August 21st 2019
Available exclusively on Netflix
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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