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Ken Takakura,
Kiichi Nakai,
Shinobu Terashima,
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:
Zhang Yimou
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: 
: Sony Pictures
: Drama, Foreign, Hong Kong, Quest
: 109 min.
: French, Portuguese
: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
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On the heels of such extravagant historical swordplay epics as Hero and House of Flying Daggers, Mainland Chinese director Zhang Yimou returns to the reins to tell this intimate tale of an aging father who attempts to remedy a longstanding rift with his grown son. Summoned to Tokyo by his daughter-in-law, Rie (Shinobu Terajima), village fisherman Gou-ichi Takata (Ken Takakura), arrives at a city hospital to find his son, Ken-ichi (Kiichi Nakai), bedridden by liver cancer. Though Gou-ichi attempts to use the visit as a catalyst to heal a decade-long dispute between the pair, stubborn Ken-ichi rejects his father's attempt at reconciliation outright. Subsequently handed a videotape by Rie before departing back to the countryside, Gou-ichi returns home unsuccessful in his efforts to build a bridge of peace between himself and his ailing son. Upon watching the videotape, a research project exploring the Chinese folk arts that was shot by Ken-ichi in the Southern province of Yunnan, Gou-ichi is oddly affected by the onscreen failure of his son in convincing well-known opera singer Li Jiamin (playing himself) to perform the titular song, a classic operatic piece espousing the values of friendship. Now determined to travel to Yunnan and videotape the performance that his son could not, Gou-ichi embarks on a life-changing quest that will not only give him a greater understanding of the relationship between himself and his own son, but set into motion a healing process that will also have a profound impact on the troubled opera singer and the man's long-lost illegitimate son as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
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| Exquisite for so many reasons...
by highgrove
October 26, 2007 - 9:40 PM PDT
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0 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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| I gave this film a ten because it has so many things to recommend it: 1) The location shooting which included Lijiang, a Unesco World Heritage heritage site, and which I have longed to visit ever since reading about it last year in an issue of Budget Travel. 2) The superb performance by Ken Takakura, who becomes freer in expressing himself and his emotions than he was previously capable of doing as a result of his encouters during this trip. 3) The fact that it is probably one of the best movies ever made about the complications of relationships between fathers and sons. 4) The wonderful scenes of Chinese village life, the warmth of the people, and the extent to which they went to help him in his quest to film a jailed opera singer on behalf of his dying son. You will undoubtedly find your own reasons to cherish this film and share it with others. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.10)
10 Votes
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