Soul Carriage. 2007. China/UK. Directed by Conrad Clark. Desperately in need of cash, Xinren, a young worker at a Shanghai construction site, takes on the onerous task of returning the body of a coworker who died on the job to his family. Nasty as the chore may be, it seems simple enough—but nothing is simple in a changing China. As Xinren works his way from the city to the countryside—in opposition to the direction most workers go for jobs—looking for someone, anyone, who will acknowledge the dead man, we witness his growing isolation, as his only companion is the body in the back of his van. First-time filmmaker Conrad Clark (who received the New Directors Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival) spent two years in China researching the country's shift towards urbanization and has created a daring work in which the environment is a major character. Beautifully shot, this story of modernity overtaking tradition serves as a metaphor for Chinese migrant workers searching for material—and spiritual—fulfillment. 88 min.