Nice View

Wen Muye's 2022 Chinese film is set in Shenzhen. To pay for the heart surgery his little sister needs, young Jing Hao sets up a small workshop recovering phone components from electronic waste. The business sits at the edge of legality, he has no capital, and the people he employs are as unprotected as he is: a deaf woman, an ageing worker, a young man with a record. The film puts the solidarity of that crew at the centre and makes the bottom rung of China's manufacturing economy visible. While the story is hopeful, working conditions and industrial accidents are shown realistically. Jackson Yee's performance carries the character's exhaustion. It was a major commercial success in China. Who it's for: viewers who like Chinese drama about labour and family. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a critique aimed at the system itself; the film locates the solution in individual effort.