Actor(s): Ken Takakura, Kiichi Nakai, Shinobu Terajima, Ken Nakamoto, Jiamin Li
Director(s): Yasuo Furuhata, Yimou Zhang
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Binding: DVD
Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
Language(s): English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Cantonese, Chinese
EAN: 0043396165854
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Description
Zhang Yimou's heartfelt feature about cultural displacement, grief, and reconciliation is a lovely and somewhat unexpected work from the director of Raise the Red Lantern and House of Flying Daggers. Japanese actor Ken Takakura stars as Gou-ichi Takata, a laconic man who lives in a fishing village and is estranged from his son. When word reaches him that his son is ill with cancer, Takata travels to Tokyo but is turned away. Takata learns that his son has a passion for rural Chinese folk opera, and he flies to mainland China to locate Li Jiamin (playing himself), an opera star who happens to be in jail at the moment. Takata's story reminds Li of his own sad disconnection from his young son, and Takata sets out to restore their relationship as a prelude to helping his own with Li's help. Zhang himself is unusually operatic here, with intense emotions flying around, prettified visions of nature, and characters--including prison guards and peasants--who seem idealized, both as folklore and even old, Maoist notions of cooperation. Zhang's longtime admirers will appreciate and understand this change of pace from a filmmaker whose relationship with Chinese officials has often been strained over content. But film fans less familiar with his body of work will enjoy Riding Alone as well. --Tom Keogh
Stills from Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (click for larger image)
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Takada, a Japanese fisherman, has been estranged from his son for many years, but when the son is diagnosed with terminal cancer his daughter-in-law, Rie, summons him to the hospital. When his son refuses to see him, Rie gives him a videotape about the work his son was doing on a documentary film in a remote region of Chinas Yunnan province. Still troubled by the relationship, Takada decided to complete his sons work in part to develop an understanding of his son, and in part to do something for him. Once in China, a series of obstacles and relationships bring him unexpectedly closer to both an understanding of himself and of his son.
A wonderful movie about redemption. An elder man attempts, as an act of reconciliation with his dying son, a difficult mission. His task carries him to majestic areas of China where he meets majestic Chinese villagers. This is a film of natural beauty, of generous emotion, of graceful spirit, of determined love. . . There is a striking whistle in this movie; a whistle I will never forget--a plaintive call, I will remember it as, to humankind: Be, and act, this way.
"Not for everyone"
Written By: C. Sperling
This is a truly touching movie about a father's love for his son, which he can only demonstrate vicariously from time to time. Rooted deep in Japanese cultural foibles, this movie is partially in Japanese, partially in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles. Give it a try.
"powerful & beautiful"
Written By: astrorev
Another wonderful father/son film from China (watched Shower last week and highly recommend it), beautiful in its portrayal of estranged/separated family members, and the journey undertaken to reconcile and reconnect. I especially enjoyed the intermix of two Asian cultures, Japanese & Chinese. It was intriguing listening to the translator characters moving back and forth between the two languages all the while I was reading subtitles in English. It really enhanced the impact of differing cultures. I also really liked the scenes of both rural coastal Japan, and rural mountainous China, places and sights we seldom have in mind here in the West when we think of these two great nations. Of course, these aspects are personal bonuses; the real treasure is the story itself, of which much has been eloquently stated by other reviewers. I can't recommend it enough for those who want to see inspiration and redemption that is common to humans whose culture appears so different from our own.
"Heart Warming Movie of Two Cultures With Father and Son Issues"
Written By: Lynn Ellingwood
This is a very touching small movie about a man in Japan who has been estranged from his son who is now dying. The son rejects his father and the father is left talking to the daughter-in-law who can't seem to get her husband to reconcile with him. The father discovers his son was a filmmaker who was in the middle of making a documentary in China about a village in Yunnan province. The father rushes to the village to complete the son's documentary. A situation similar to the Japanese family's is occurring in the village, a young boy is basically left to fend for himself while his father has not acknowledged him and doesn't take care of him. How these stories are resolved is a very touching story. A small, well made movie by Zheng Yimou who seems to be trapped making very good but not as fulfilling martial arts movies now. This a throw back to the movies that made him famous and great.
"A real Sleeper!!"
Written By: Charles M. Garner
I found this movie on IFC independent film channel and watched it there. It was so very well done that I had to own it. My friends have been viewing it and they are going to buy it also. Give it a try. Don't be turned off by the idea of sub-titles. This movie is a real SLEEPER. Should have been shown in theatres all over the country.
"We should look eastward"
