Reviews

“A miniature masterpiece of documentary observation!”
– Ty Burr, BOSTON GLOBE

“Remarkable… Fan has visual panache – Last Train Home has some gorgeously composed shots – but he also has something that can’t be taught: The patience and understanding to allow a family to tell their heartbreaking story in their own way.”
– G. Allen Johnson, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

“Exceptional documentary!”
– Kenneth Turan, LOS ANGELES TIMES

“A filmmaker whose guile and courage with the camera can seem almost magical… Mr. Fan’s documentary is informed by a melancholy humanism, and finds unexpected beauty in almost unbearably harsh circumstances. It tells the story of a family caught, and possibly crushed, between the past and the future — a story that, on its own, is moving, even heartbreaking. Multiplied by 130 million, it becomes a terrifying and sobering panorama of the present.”
– A.O. Scott, THE NEW YORK TIMES

“An incredibly powerful story that should be seen and discussed around the world!”
– Kristin McCracken, HUFFINGTON POST

“Rush hour on the New York subway is a walk on a country lane compared with what the impressive documentary Last Train Home calls ‘the world’s largest human migration.’”
– V.A. Musetto, THE NEW YORK POST

“Such an exceptional movie! Stunningly intimate…wonderfully crafted.”
– Amy Taubin, ARTFORUM

“Frequently moving and quietly enlightening, Last Train Home is about love and exploitation, sacrifice and endurance.”
– Jeannette Catsoulis, NPR.ORG

“ Stunning! Hypnotic! It has all the sting and punch of a classic 19th century novel.”
– Chris Barsanti, AMC FilmCritic.com

“A beautifully shot, heartbreaking vérité narrative about generation gaps and culture clashes.”
– Noel Murray, THE ONION A.V. CLUB

“ Within its first few minutes, Lixin Fan’s documentary on ‘the world’s largest human migration’ distinguishes itself as something more than your typical Dateline-ish social-issues missive. The attention to visuals is above and beyond what most vérité is capable of; doing double duty as the film’s cinematographer, Fan demonstrates a pitch-perfect photojournalistic eye.”
– David Fear, TIME OUT NEW YORK

“Filmmaker Lixin Fan may very well be one of modern-day China’s great non-fiction storytellers. His Sundance World Cinema Documentary competition film, LAST TRAIN HOME is a documentary masterpiece!”
– Brian Brooks, INDIEWIRE

“A fascinating family documentary that follows the amazing Chinese New Year migration. Epic in scale, but intimate in focus and unforgettable overall!”
– Andrew O’Hehir, SALON

“A beautifully shot, haunting and haunted large-scale portrait by Lixin Fan about an astonishing migration involving 130 million Chinese workers who each year travel by train, boat and foot to return home for New Year’s.”
– Manohla Dargis, THE NEW YORK TIMES

Interview with director, Filmmaker Maker

Watch Video Interview with Director, PBS

Last Train Home Facebook Page