Chinese Reviews Reviews

Film Review: The Road Home (1999) by Zhang Yimou

A visual delight raised by Zhang Ziyi's brilliant debut

Today, is well known as a superb actress, in and out of China. Amongst other achievements, she has won 12 different Best Actress awards to become the most awarded Chinese actress for a single film, “”. However, even a highly acclaimed performer had to begin somewhere, and what could be a better way than a film directed by , one known to debut wonderful performers. Her very first film is “”, Zhang's last film released in the 20th century.

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The movie begins in a black-and-white setting in contemporary China. Luo Yusheng, prompted by the death of his father, returns to his village to check on her grieving mother. Upon reaching the city, he is visited by two village men, one of them being the mayor. They tell him of his mother's strange request: that his father's coffin should be carried from the distant provincial hospital back to the village, following an old tradition. Yusheng tries to enlighten his mother on the difficulties on following the request, but she refuses to budge from her standpoint. Yusheng looks at a picture of her parents when they were recently married, and recounts the story of their courtship, which he claims is famous in the village. As the flashback begins, the monochrome of the movie turns into colour.

Zhang Ziyi, in her debut performance, is the standout performer of the movie, and while most other performers and technical aspects succeed to attract attention, it is her expressions and movements that remain as lingering thoughts upon the viewer's mind.. Playing the younger self of Zhao Di, Yusheng's mother, she becomes an archetype of purity. Her character sees love and nothing else, and while she is a normal village girl, it is her simplicity and faith that raises her profile in her village. Similarly simple is the premise of the film, a perfectly standard romantic drama, with shades of melancholy and joy. Zhang, while adapting Shi Bao's novel “Remembrance”, remembers not to dilute the experience through the addition of an unnecessary amount of melodrama. The nature of romance in the film, and the premise itself, can suffer criticism for being too pure, too lucky and a product of unrealism. The movie can also, at times, be seen as a didactic comparison between rural and urban values. Good natured stories, however, still exist in the world, even in reality. The number of such events may be negligible, but the essence of unadulterated goodness is something that cinema can always use to freshen contents up. When directed by one as experienced as Zhang, it maintains a charm which enhances the experience.

Writing of enhancement, an aspect which rises the profile of the film is once again related to Ziyi. It is her aura, which is an invisible factor in increasing her likeability to the viewer. At times, it is even visible to the screen through the lens of Hou Yong, whose connection to films like “The Horse Thief” (1986) and “Blue Kite” (1993) formed an anticipation of great cinematography. He excels, and the excellence gels well with Zhang's understanding of the movie. Usually, flashbacks are monochromatic and the contemporary world in colour. Zhang opts for the exact opposite, a far more rarely seen style, and uses brightness to enhance both colour schemes. The monochrome of the present is sharp and the colours of the past are bright and brimming, full of nostalgia, with the added radiance of Ziyi's charming smile, reminding one of Setsuko Hara's Noriko from “Early Summer” (1951).

Red is the most prominent colour in the movie, reminding of the colour of the political party that rules China. The colour is, nevertheless, an important one in the cultural basis of the nation. Red, in Chinese culture, is a symbol for joy, luck and happiness: the embodiment of these in the film, Zhao Di, wears a red jacket. Most importantly, the colour is an universal symbol of love, the dominant theme of Zhang's adaptation.

Political problems manage to appear even in the comforts of “The Road Home” and the village, as the teacher is seen to be engaged in some controversy. The time of the flashback is a period of political upheaval in the nation. With more frequent protests and a range of opinionated citizens, comes harsher punishment from the government, a hint of which is depicted. The education system of the village is broken and unimproved for decades, which is destined to be unchanged sans active fund-gathering from the villagers. Moreover, the custom which Zhao Di wants to follow is one, claimed by the mayor, to not have been attempted since the Cultural Revolution. Thus, “The Road Home” can also be seen as a display of an attempted revolution upon authority based on purity, love and bonding.

plays Luo Changyu, Yusheng's father. His performance is mildly charming yet unremarkable, as the characterization is shallow. Perhaps, Zhangs's intention is to focus on the living and not the dead. Most of the backstory the character gets is through conversations and narration. In fact, it is the lack of depth and relative lack of screentime of the character that makes the emotionally powerful and visually spectacular ending possible. The music by San Bao embraces the spirit of the movie, and emits nostalgia through its joyfully melancholic tune. plays Yusheng, who is seen less than he is heard, and his importance as narrator doubles as a way to put more focus on nostalgia of the past. plays the older Zhao Di, and her performance fits the character she gets into.

“The Road Home” is a movie optimized to create an experience full of joy and warmth. It succeeds in its goal by being a combination of simplistic narrative and visual delight, but it is undoubtedly the charm of the debutante actress that rises its stature.

About the author

Raktim Nandi

Hello, I'm Raktim Nandi, an Indian from the state of Bengal. I'm a student of Literature and a regular author for multiple sports sites. In addition, I'm a cinephile with a particular weakness for Asian films. One can find me watching ƌbayashi and Anno films in morning and Ghibli in evening.

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