American Factory (2019) coming from Criterion

[Scottie]

https://twitter.com/NetflixFilm/stat...28780245073920

[Hazel Motes]

Cmon guys, don't everyone get excited all at once.

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by Hazel Motes

Cmon guys, don't everyone get excited all at once.

I haven’t been motivated to watch it from my Netflix queue for months so... is it actually good/criterion release worthy?

[sec127]

What about Soderbergh's two Netflix films- HIGH FLYING BIRD and THE LAUNDROMAT could easily be a Criterion "Two Film by..." release... Criterion and Netflix should just strike a deal to release all their major filmmaker's features (Buster Scruggs, Mudbound, Baumbach, Greengrass' 22 JULY...)

[BamaDullard]

Originally Posted by sec127

What about Soderbergh's two Netflix films- HIGH FLYING BIRD and THE LAUNDROMAT could easily be a Criterion "Two Film by..." release... Criterion and Netflix should just strike a deal to release all their major filmmaker's features (Buster Scruggs, Mudbound, Baumbach, Greengrass' 22 JULY...)

I'd rather Criterion focus more on classics that are mostly unavailable than recent films that can easily be seen on the world's most popular streaming service.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by BamaDullard

I'd rather Criterion focus more on classics that are mostly unavailable than recent films that can easily be seen on the world's most popular streaming service.

But releasing new movies can cost less money and potentially make more than it cost. Which could help release older movies that require more restoration work.

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by sec127

What about Soderbergh's two Netflix films- HIGH FLYING BIRD and THE LAUNDROMAT could easily be a Criterion "Two Film by..." release... Criterion and Netflix should just strike a deal to release all their major filmmaker's features (Buster Scruggs, Mudbound, Baumbach, Greengrass' 22 JULY...)

The Laundromat was kind of awful... I don’t see
Them releasing either of those Soderbergh movies.

[MifuneFan]

High Flying Bird was excellent.

[ShellOilJunior]

I had not heard of this film. I'm intrigued.

[Member-222782]

Is Criterion running out of older titles and that's why there's a big surge of new films coming out?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

Is Criterion running out of older titles and that's why there's a big surge of new films coming out?

No. There's no "big surge" either. Netflix simply announced that Criterion acquired 4 of their recent releases. They release 5 or 6 titles a month, most of which are older titles.

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

No. There's no "big surge" either. Netflix simply announced that Criterion acquired 4 of their recent releases. They release 5 or 6 titles a month, most of which are older titles.

OK, maybe "surge" wasn't the right word but you can't deny that there seems to be a subtle uptick in very new films being released. Maybe it just seems that way because these are more like leaks and not monthly announcements so taken as a whole it feels like a surge In any case, not looking for an argument - just making an observation. Personally, I'm likelier to blind buy a recent film from Criterion as opposed to an obscure art film from the 60's. There are plenty of very good films being made today that may not see the light of day so it works out

[FragnitoM]

I watched American Factory last night. Thought it was terrific, but don’t see myself revisiting it any time soon or needing to buy a physical release right now

[Franc Zaic]

Movie would have been better if narrated by Michael Keaton in character as Hunt Stevenson

[iamnoone]

Thanks to this thread, I heard about this film and streamed it. I liked it, it smartly shows the differences in culture amongst the workers from China and the US, and the whole trying to start a union reinforces all of that, but in the end, it didn't really have as much punch as I was hoping for. I get it, I understand everything the filmmakers wanted to convey, and it held my interest for 2 hours, but the generic music score and some other stuff made this simply average to me overall. Yep, the Chinese are committed and will work their butts off for the country and business regardless of pay or overime, and most Americans are lazy and fat and want an easier ride. That's kind of simplifying things and not 100% true, but that's what the film conveys. Worth a watch, not a buy.

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by iamnoone

Yep, the Chinese are committed and will work their butts off for the country and business regardless of pay or overime, and most Americans are lazy and fat and want an easier ride. That's kind of simplifying things and not 100% true, but that's what the film conveys. Worth a watch, not a buy.

I wouldn’t say this is the film’s message that Americans are lazy and Chinese are robots. I think the point was that these are the general views we have of each other, that Americans and Chinese are both ethnocentric towards one another

[Trekkie313]

What's with factory movies and Ohio?

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by Trekkie313

What's with factory movies and Ohio?

Same thing as Earthquakes and California

[MifuneFan]

I thought this was pretty good. It kind of reminded me of a PBS Frontline film, but not as compelling a narrative, or as hard-hitting. I thought a lot of it was fascinating, and I'm surprised at level of access granted to the filmmakers, especially considering this is a Chinese company that clearly wants to control its message.

I do feel the documentary needed a tighter focus. It took very broad strokes in its coverage, and as a result, some of its runtime feels padded by filler content that could have easily been excised without losing much. A lot of the scenes where the Americans go to China, and watch the Fuyao celebration, including some weddings on the stage, just weren't necessary in my opinion.

I think the most interesting part is the fact that the company (Fuyao) can almost be looked at as China itself. It has a very similar hierarchy of power, they generate their own propaganda, and are against letting the people (workers) have a lot of say. Their attempts at setting up shop in Ohio isn't too different from China as a country investing in America, both with ulterior motives of getting China, and Chinese companies in America's consciousness more and more.

The Chinese have very stereotypical (and often hilarious) views of what it means to be an American, similar to how we also have our own pre-conceptions about them. They started a US branch of their company without really factoring in the myriad of issues that would no doubt come into play with that (Unions, our work ethic vs theirs, labor laws, etc..). It was interesting to see what initially start out as division with parity between American and Chinese workers, essentially become more and more Chinese in how it was managed.

The ending gave off mixed messages too. They talked briefly, as in less than a minute, about automation taking over certain positions, but then put up a few text blurbs about how huge of a concern that was going to be going forward. You'd think they would have dedicated a little more time to that then. I don't really feel like the doc properly resolved (through text or otherwise) what the state of the workplace is now at Fuyao. They just mentioned the company's financials, and what its workforce is made up of, but not really putting any sort of actual conclusion on the weightier topics discussed throughout the whole thing.

I'm glad whenever a streaming-only title finds a physical home (I think I made that sound like they're foster children), but after seeing it, I don't feel it was worthy of Criterion releasing it. Perhaps it was a package deal with Netflix to get the other stuff. I just don't see it as anything more than a one-time watch for myself, and I assume the vast majority of people who will watch it.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I thought this was pretty good. It kind of reminded me of a PBS Frontline film, but not as compelling a narrative, or as hard-hitting. I thought a lot of it was fascinating, and I'm surprised at level of access granted to the filmmakers, especially considering this is a Chinese company that clearly wants to control its message.

I do feel the documentary needed a tighter focus. It took very broad strokes in its coverage, and as a result, some of its runtime feels padded by filler content that could have easily been excised without losing much. A lot of the scenes where the Americans go to China, and watch the Fuyao celebration, including some weddings on the stage, just weren't necessary in my opinion.

I think the most interesting part is the fact that the company (Fuyao) can almost be looked at as China itself. It has a very similar hierarchy of power, they generate their own propaganda, and are against letting the people (workers) have a lot of say. Their attempts at setting up shop in Ohio isn't too different from China as a country investing in America, both with ulterior motives of getting China, and Chinese companies in America's consciousness more and more.

The Chinese have very stereotypical (and often hilarious) views of what it means to be an American, similar to how we also have our own pre-conceptions about them. They started a US branch of their company without really factoring in the myriad of issues that would no doubt come into play with that (Unions, our work ethic vs theirs, labor laws, etc..). It was interesting to see what initially start out as division with parity between American and Chinese workers, essentially become more and more Chinese in how it was managed.

The ending gave off mixed messages too. They talked briefly, as in less than a minute, about automation taking over certain positions, but then put up a few text blurbs about how huge of a concern that was going to be going forward. You'd think they would have dedicated a little more time to that then. I don't really feel like the doc properly resolved (through text or otherwise) what the state of the workplace is now at Fuyao. They just mentioned the company's financials, and what its workforce is made up of, but not really putting any sort of actual conclusion on the weightier topics discussed throughout the whole thing.

I'm glad whenever a streaming-only title finds a physical home (I think I made that sound like they're foster children), but after seeing it, I don't feel it was worthy of Criterion releasing it. Perhaps it was a package deal with Netflix to get the other stuff. I just don't see it as anything more than a one-time watch for myself, and I assume the vast majority of people who will watch it.

I'm glad you said it and not me. I was talking to my buddy who's a professor over at Georgetown in their Film & Media department and he was kind of surprised by my negative reaction to the movie. I do think it's an interesting reflection on the differing type of work ethics between the Chinese and American workers and CEO; but as a film, directors Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar style and narrative flow was like watching paint dry. I rarely give up on a film midway, but I almost did with this one. There were so many great documentary films released in 2019, how this got shortlisted to the final five Oscar nominees is simply beyond me.

side comment: I really hope with the NEON deal, Criterion releases the critically acclaimed "Apollo 11" with all the supplements that were dispersed here and there and everywhere and does the movie justice *cough* 4K UHD U.S release *cough*