China Express (1929) is a silent movie that actually moves

You should watch this today if you like movies that feel like they are vibrating with nervous energy. It is great for people who enjoyed Snowpiercer and want to see the 1920s version of that same anger. If you hate black and white movies or stuff that feels like a history lesson, you will probably be bored out of your mind within ten minutes.

I sat down with a coffee to watch China Express (also called Blue Express) and I expected a slow, dusty experience. I was wrong. This thing moves like a bullet. 🚂

The whole movie is set on a train where the rich people are in the front and the poor people are packed in the back like sardines. It is not subtle about its message. At all. But the way it is shot makes you forget how simple the story is.

There is this one scene early on with a tea cup. The camera just stares at the tea being poured while the train shakes. You can almost feel the vibration in your own seat. It’s weirdly hypnotic.

The editing is what really got me. It is so fast. Sometimes the cuts are only a second long. It reminded me a bit of the intensity in Surging Seas but way more claustrophobic because of the train cars.

The the rich people in the first-class carriage are almost like cartoons. They are eating these huge meals and looking bored while the workers in the back are sweating and looking miserable. It’s very heavy-handed, but it works for the vibe they are going for.

I noticed a small detail where a guy is trying to sleep on a pile of bags and he just looks so genuinely exhausted. Not "actor" exhausted, but like he actually worked a 14-hour shift before they started filming. It made the whole thing feel a bit more real.

Yanina Zheymo shows up and she has this incredibly expressive face. Silent film acting can be a bit much sometimes with all the waving arms, but she keeps it grounded. The same goes for Boris Brodyansky, who has a look that could cut glass.

When the revolt finally starts, the movie goes absolutely nuts. There is a sequence with the train wheels and the pistons moving faster and faster that is edited to match the heartbeats of the characters. I think? Or maybe I was just projecting because I was getting stressed out watching it.

It’s much more exciting than something like The Galley Slave, which feels a bit more traditional in how it handles suffering. This movie feels like it wants to punch you in the face.

I did find some of the stuff with the "foreigners" on the train to be a little confusing. There are a lot of characters introduced quickly and I honestly lost track of who was who in the front of the train. It didn't really matter though. You know they are the bad guys because they have fancy hats and look mean.

There is a moment where a child is involved in the chaos that felt a bit too much like the director was trying to make me cry. It was a little manipulative. But hey, it was 1929, they were still figuring out how much was too much.

The train itself is the real star. I love how they captured the steam and the smoke. It feels like a living monster that everyone is trapped inside of. If you’ve seen Humanity, you know how these older films love their big industrial symbols.

I think the middle part drags just a tiny bit when they are arguing about what to do next. It goes on for maybe five minutes too long. My mind started to wander to what I was going to have for dinner, which is never a good sign for a movie that is only an hour long.

But then the ending happens. Wow.

The ending doesn't really give you a clean resolution. It just sort of... explodes. It’s very loud for a silent movie, if that makes sense. The visual noise is off the charts.

I wonder if people in 1929 were as stressed watching this as I was. Probably more so. It feels like a movie made by people who were actually living through a lot of mess.

It’s definitely better than Notoriety if you’re looking for something with actual stakes. It feels like it matters. Even if the politics are a bit dated, the feeling of being stuck in a system that hates you is pretty universal.

One weird thing—there is a shot of a guy’s hand on a lever that stays on screen for ages. I dont know why. Maybe the editor just liked the way the light hit the metal? It’s these little imperfections that make me love these old films.

If you have an hour to kill and want to see something that influenced a million other movies, give it a shot. Just don't expect a happy ending where everyone sits down and talks out their problems. That is not what this is about. 🚂🔥