Anyone who still holds to the illusion that the People’s Republic of China was a classless society will stand corrected by the extreme economic stratification of the nation’s rail travel. There is a very definite class hierarchy and the respective accommodations vary accordingly. The train is kind of-sort of a metaphor, but it is also a rather cinematic setting for J.P. Sniadecki’s observational documentary “The Iron Ministry,” which screened during the 52nd New York Film Festival.
A scene from "The Iron Ministry." Icarus Films
