Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
IMDbPro

The Iron Ministry

  • 20142014
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 22m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
276
YOUR RATING
The Iron Ministry (2014)
Trailer for The Iron Ministry
Play trailer1:57
2 Videos
5 Photos
  • Documentary
Filmed over three years on what will soon be the world's largest railway network, 'The Iron Ministry' traces the vast interiors of a country on the move: flesh and metal, clangs and squeals,... Read allFilmed over three years on what will soon be the world's largest railway network, 'The Iron Ministry' traces the vast interiors of a country on the move: flesh and metal, clangs and squeals, light and dark, language and gesture.Filmed over three years on what will soon be the world's largest railway network, 'The Iron Ministry' traces the vast interiors of a country on the move: flesh and metal, clangs and squeals, light and dark, language and gesture.
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
276
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • J.P. Sniadecki
Top credits
  • Director
    • J.P. Sniadecki
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2User reviews
    • 29Critic reviews
    • 76Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 8 nominations

    Videos2

    The Iron Ministry
    Trailer 1:57
    The Iron Ministry
    The Iron Ministry Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:56
    The Iron Ministry Official Trailer

    Photos

    The Iron Ministry (2014)
    The Iron Ministry (2014)
    The Iron Ministry (2014)
    The Iron Ministry (2014)

    More like this

    Zama
    6.7
    Zama
    Tabu
    7.3
    Tabu
    The Kingmaker
    7.6
    The Kingmaker
    Daguerreotypes
    7.6
    Daguerreotypes
    Chinese Portrait
    6.5
    Chinese Portrait
    Yumen
    6.4
    Yumen
    The Pornographers
    7.2
    The Pornographers
    Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc
    5.9
    Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc
    The Salt of the Earth
    8.4
    The Salt of the Earth
    The Conformist
    7.9
    The Conformist
    The Rider
    7.4
    The Rider
    Suburban Birds
    6.2
    Suburban Birds

    Storyline

    Edit

    User reviews2

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Interesting documentary, seemingly about variety of trains in China. Conversations with passengers and personnel make this movie an insightful survey of country and people
    I saw this at the Rotterdam film festival 2015 (IFFR). Though I usually avoid documentaries, this one looked different when reading the festival website. And indeed it was different! Unbelievable how this 1-man film crew succeeded in producing a very interesting insight in not only the Chinese railways but also in the people living there. It is a country with people we know not so much about. What is so special about this film is that it not only shows various types of trains and passengers, but also witness conversations with passengers about politics and religion. I'm not sure it is deliberate by design, but we see a trend from overcrowded and messy local trains, gradually upgrading towards the ultra modern high-speed trains that China has in growing numbers.

    The local trains seem overcrowded with people and their luggage, many people standing or sitting on the ground. These trains look rather old, seemingly overdue for decommissioning. We see meat being dissected in the open, we see large amounts of fruits and vegetables being boarded, apparently people heading for the market to sell their wares. We see everyone finding their place somewhere. All of them are very cooperative and move aside when the need arises, without the protests, comments and short-fused tempers usual in the country where I live.

    Later on, we see trains that are less retarded, carrying people obviously prepared for a long journey, sleeping in uncomfortable positions, and displaying a variety of food and drinks for underway. Also sleeper coaches are included, enforcing the idea that these are long distance trains. In the end we move on to the other end of the train spectrum. We see the insides of very modern trains, apparently high speed ones (a display above the compartment door shows 306 km/h), much less crowded and much quieter.

    This film offers much more than showcasing the variety of trains in use within China. A very nice feature of this film is that passengers and personnel are followed and interviewed along the ride. The tone of the interviews is very open, mostly optimistic, showing trust in the nation's policy and stating that China is one nation and should stay one nation. Also some Muslims are interviewed, bringing the conversation to mosques (or lack thereof) and freedom of religion, the latter seems a non-issue and is discussed in a much more relaxed way than I had assumed beforehand. In other interviews we observe some critical remarks, however, about house prices and the impossibility to rent an apartment, the latter being occupied by people with "connections". The house prices are indirectly responsible, so it seems, for the average late age to get married, combined with dominant role of mothers in law when matrimony is concerned. All in all, a very informative insight in how Chinese people live and think.

    All in all, even when trains as transport vehicles cannot interest you, this still is a "must see" documentary. It is very interesting to watch, and provides for an inside view in a country and people of which we really don't know very much. The tone is not critical, however, and mostly satisfied with the current state of the nation and its politics.
    helpful•10
    1
    • JvH48
    • Apr 2, 2015

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 21, 2015 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • distributor site
      • filmmaker site
    • Language
      • Mandarin
    • Also known as
      • Ministrstvo za zeleznice
    • Filming locations
      • China
    • Production company
      • Cinder Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $3,340
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $896
      • Aug 23, 2015
    • Gross worldwide
      • $3,885
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 22 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.78 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    The Iron Ministry (2014)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Iron Ministry (2014) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    2022 TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    Image caption not available
    2:02
    LGBTQIA+ Movies and Shows to Watch This Summer
    Watch the video

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.