 | The Road Home Starring: Zhang Ziyi, Sun Honglei, Zhao Yuelin, Zheng Hao |
"The Road Home," a recent film by China's leading film director, Zhang Yimou, is a simple tale of romance and enduring love set in a remote village in Northern China. The film says a lot about life and death yet these subjects are more of a subtle feeling one gets while viewing the film. Yimou, considered one of cinema's important living directors, has changed his approach to films. Gone are the epic storytelling of "Ju Dou" (To Live) and the lush, textured mise-en-scenes of "Raise the Red Lantern". Beginning with his last film, "Not One Less," Yimou has focused on simple stories and character driven narratives. His new minimalist approach creates a more documentary, humanistic style of filmmaking. In this pure and simple style lies the power of these films. Yong Hou's cinematography is exquisite and his colours of the Northern China landscape add to the poetry of the film. Yimou never allows the cinematography to detract focus on the characters. Ziyi Zhang's performance ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") draws the audience into the film quickly. This lovely young actress can do more with a simple facial expression than pages of dialogue. Only the syrupy musical score seems to get in the way, yet it leaves an indelible, positive impression long after seeing the film. It may very well be the perfect music for this tale. The story is told in flash back. A young man returns to his home village when his father dies. It has been many years since he has visited his parents in the bleak Northern China region. He finds his aging mother devastated by her husband's death. The frail woman still has enough fight to left to "loom" her husbands death cloth and insist on having the man's funeral in the old custom of having the corpse carried from the morgue, some miles away, by hand, to the village for burial. The village mayor explains to the son that this is impossible. This long, procession would take many men and all of the young people have left the nearly vacant old village. The mother stubbornly refuses to budge, insisting that since her husband had been the village's sole schoolteacher for most of his life, he deserves the respect of the procession so that he will always know the road home. As the son contemplates the dilemma, he notices the wedding picture of his parents. Their courtship was legendary in the region and we are transported from the snowy, cold, black and white present to a happier, more innocent time, as the film changes to vibrant colour. We see the mother as a child/woman (Zhang Ziyi). Her expressions are that of a childish young girl but her actions to capture the attention of the handsome village schoolteacher (Zheng Hao) are mature. Her efforts are not wasted. When the young teacher sees the lovely girl he is obviously smitten. Their courtship and romance is the centre of the film. Some may find "The Road Home" a bit too simplistic and overly sweet. This kind of profound love is, unfortunately, not often seen in modern times. I'm afraid too few will appreciate the honest, quiet power of the film. I found it charming and unforgettable. |