When we think of 1950s China, we think of communism, oppression, and just general trouble. But what we fail to see in periods of oppression, is the love and compassion people show for each other. We fail to see the victories of life big and small. The Road Home helps us see this in a different light. It describes the love story between two people in 1950s rural China.
Based off the novel "Rememberance" by Shi Bao. Director Yimou Zhang, and cinematographer Yong Hou create a beautifully plain world for our love story to be set in. For Zhang and Hou, the greatness is not in special effects but in the simplicity of the world around them.
The Road Home is told through a flashback. The opening scene is a young son Luo Yusheng(Honglei Sun ) coming back to his old village. His father has just passed away and he is coming to take care of his mom, The black and white cinematography set the mood for the dark opening of the film. The weather is very snowy and bleak, they are in the dead of winter. The mother is distraught, having lost the love of her life there is nothing Luo can do to comfort her, except perform the traditional village burial ceremony of carrying his father back home, even though times have changed so much. Luo then remembers the story of his parents first meeting, this is where the story takes a turning point.
In Luo's flashback, the color is restored too the world and spring has just begun. This world is bright, colorful, and vivid. The people of this village are quite simple in their ways. Zhao Di(Ziyi Zhang) the mother of Luo is young, beautiful and innocent. She spends her days taking care of her blind grandmother. When the village gets a new school teacher, everyone prepares to greet him into their village. When the new teacher Luo Chengyu(Hao Zheng) arrives, Di automatically falls in love. When the men of the village are building a new schoolhouse, she cooks everyday for Luo. She goes to the unused well on the other side of the village just to see him. When the schoolhouse is completed, she walks around the whole school just to hear his voice. When Luo has to leave for two years on government business, Di waits on those mountain sides through all seasons, waiting for his return.
Back in modern time, the color is depleted out of the world again and returns to black and white. Luo goes to other villages and places to ask for help, with the burial ceremony expecting to pay the men a large amount of money. What he doesn't expect, is the lasting impact his father had on these people. A large crowd of people turn out to carry his father back home. These men were his former students and this is the least they could do. The final scene is the shot of Luo Chengyu's gravestone on top of the old well. And the bright young face of Di running home while the credits roll.
This movie is catapulted by Ziyi Zhangs phenomonal performance. Her face has the power to convey so many emotions. The long lingering close ups are well deserved and carry the whole movie. We feel all the emotions of Di and really connect with her as a person. She is no longer a character, she is our friend who we feel for.
Yimou Zhang, Shi Bao, and Yong Hou have managed to use a seemingly simple story, and create a richly satisfying, almost transcedental piece of art. The rich silences between Di and Luo say so much more than words ever could. The surround landscapes and seasons of the village all give signals and hidden meanings. The sweeping, majestic music of Bao San creates a mood like no other composer. The reocurring themes of music continually signal the small victories and eternal love of Di.
While this movie strays on the simple side, it does not concern itself with plot oriented matter, or the need to explain everything. Most love films just shove the story down your throat, forcing you to fall in love with the characters. The Road Home takes love and displays it in it's purest form. The greatest accomplishment of this film is to show characters that have never touched, kissed or had sex, and make us feel for them, without distracting us with fancy visual effects or bombastic musical numbers. The great simplicity in The Road Home is it's greatest special effect and it makes it one of the greatest love stories ever told.
 |
