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IMDbPro

American Factory

  • 20192019
  • TV-14TV-14
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
22K
YOUR RATING
American Factory (2019)
In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand blue-collar Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.
Play trailer2:31
1 Video
45 Photos
Documentary
In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a factory in an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as hi... Read allIn post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a factory in an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a factory in an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
22K
YOUR RATING
    • Steven Bognar
    • Julia Reichert
  • Stars
    • Junming 'Jimmy' Wang
    • Robert Allen
    • Sherrod Brown
    • Steven Bognar
    • Julia Reichert
  • Stars
    • Junming 'Jimmy' Wang
    • Robert Allen
    • Sherrod Brown
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 172User reviews
    • 62Critic reviews
    • 86Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:31
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos45

    American Factory (2019)
    American Factory (2019)
    Rob Haerr and Wong He in American Factory (2019)
    Steven Bognar at an event for The Oscars (2020)
    Julia Reichert and Jeff Reichert at an event for The Oscars (2020)
    Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert at an event for The Oscars (2020)
    Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert, and Jeff Reichert at an event for The Oscars (2020)
    Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert at an event for The Oscars (2020)
    Julia Reichert at an event for The Oscars (2020)
    Julia Reichert at an event for American Factory (2019)
    Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert at an event for American Factory (2019)
    Robert Allen at an event for American Factory (2019)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Junming 'Jimmy' Wang
    Junming 'Jimmy' Wang
    • Self - Vice President, Fuyao
    Robert Allen
    Robert Allen
    • Self - Furnace Off-Loader
    • (as Bobby)
    Sherrod Brown
    Sherrod Brown
    • Self - U.S. Senator, Ohio
    Dave Burrows
    Dave Burrows
    • Self - Vice President, Fuyao Glass America
    Dawnetta Cantrell
    • Self
    Lori Cochran
    • Self
    Austin Cole
    Austin Cole
    • Self - Tempering Backlight Production Supervisor
    John Crane
    John Crane
    • Self - Fuyao Safety Director
    John Gauthier
    • Self - President, Fuyao Glass America
    Rob Haerr
    Rob Haerr
    • Self - Furnace Supervisor
    Cynthia Harper
    Cynthia Harper
    • Self - Lamination Specialist
    Wong He
    Wong He
    • Self - Furance Engineer
    Timi Jernigan
    Timi Jernigan
    • Self - Furnance Technician
    Betty Jones
    • Self
    Jill Lamantia
    Jill Lamantia
    • Self - Forklift Operator
    Jeff Daochuan Liu
    Jeff Daochuan Liu
    • Self - President, Fuyao Glass America
    Curt McDivitt
    • Self
    Steve Reese
    • Self
      • Steven Bognar
      • Julia Reichert
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert previously worked on the short documentary The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (2009). It is about how the plant was shut down by General Motors, a topic in this movie.
    • Quotes

      Himself - Fuyao Safety Director: Everybody at every level will say that we really, really want to be safe. But safety doesn't pay the bills.

    • Connections
      Featured in The Oscars (2020)

    User reviews172

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Thought provoking and mature exploration of a meeting of two potentially warring cultures.
    I didn't think I'd see a better documentary than For Sama this year, and having viewed Netflix's American Factory last night, the Oscar winner in the documentary category, I stand by that view.

    However, this is a fine piece of work.

    It tells the story of a Chinese windscreen-manufacturer reseeding the site of a massive General Motors factory in Dayton Ohio some three years after its closure.

    The main premise of the film is that this is a meeting of two cultures, both business and anthropological, and how the rise in Chinese commercial enterprise, even deep in rust-belt, Republican USA, is a success that won't go away.

    But the Chinese drive a hard bargain: much lower wages, poorer health and safety ideology, an intolerance of unions and a hard work ethic (in China overtime is compulsory, not optional).

    The filmmakers - Stephen Bognar and Julia Rheichert - are seasoned pros and have an interesting technique that makes this such an agreeable watch. It's not controversial, there's little humour and there are no pyrotechnics. It's just a laconic stroll through the lives of the people on both sides of this cultural ravine, gradually exposing what it's like for each of them.

    They take no sides, they critique no-one, but clearly there is stuff in here that could enrage a very large percentage of its viewers, no matter their cultural persuasion.

    That's what makes it work. That and a good soundtrack and a pleasing use of cinematography.

    It's not doc of the year, for me, but it IS an intelligent piece of documentary film-making that is as far from the Michael Moore one-sided tidal-wave of opinion and argument as one could get, and, for that, it is to be admired.
    helpful•7
    0
    • markgorman
    • Feb 22, 2020

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 21, 2019 (United States)
      • United States
      • Official Netflix
      • English
      • Mandarin
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Moraine, Ohio, USA
    • Production companies
      • Higher Ground Productions
      • Participant
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 50 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

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