“Youth (Hard Times)” and “Youth (Homecoming),” detail Chinese workshops

Shooting in the workshops in Zhili, eastern China, from 2014 to 2019, documentarian Wang Bing concludes his "Youth" trilogy with "Hard Times" and "Homecoming." In the Huzhou City district, east China's Zhejiang Province, Bing samples a few of the 18,000 workshops, employing over 300,000 migrant garment workers, adopting a fly-on-the-wall approach to the oppressive living conditions and minimum wage jobs.

As with American Frederick Wiseman's films, no voiceover commentary interprets the candid, unambiguous footage which speaks volumes about abusive treatment all on its own. Young men and women, almost all in their twenties, work in low light, crowded conditions with considerable speed at sewing machines packed in rows side-by-side and back to back. Their inhospitable dormitories are no better, crowded with cots and minimal cooking options. Long hours dominate their days as sewing machines jam, needles and pedals break, some items must be redone—all in record time.

Bosses, who make few appearances, urge all to work faster, despite complaints of exhaustion, and then some supervisors refuse to pay agreed upon, nominal rates. In several scenes, workers debate their wages with a manager, usually confronting their boss as a unified group, all to no avail. In "Hard Times," one manager absconds with all the promised wages, leaving the workers destitute, with no options. Attempting to get ahead, many of the young men gamble, losing what little they had earned. Most feel and apparently are trapped in the appalling situation, one commenting, "You don't work, you don't eat."

In "Homecoming," as New Year's approaches, Bing follows several workers to their home towns, one in a gorgeous mountain setting. However, there, as in Zhili, little relief arrives. Crammed on trains and buses, at times navigating icy, perilous roads, the sons and daughters reunite with their families. They'll cook over wood fires on earthen floors, learn about one construction worker's father whose bricks were stolen, and another father who has lung disease. A wedding and, ironically, the Feast of the God of Prosperity will offer some qualified celebration. Living the hours of "Youth" brings this hard scrabble world to life and reminds me how fortunate we are in our comforts.

In Mandarin with English subtitles, "Youth (Hard Times)" (3 hours 47 minutes) screens Saturday, January 25, at 6:30 and "Youth (Homecoming)" (2 hours 32 minutes) screens Sunday, January 26, at 7:00 p.m. at Webster University’s Winifred Moore auditorium. For more information, you may visit the film series website.