"The Road Home (Wo de fu qin mu qin)" is partly in black-and-white and all in Chinese, has no action, virtually nothing happens, is G-rated, and the majority of the movie is close-ups of the face of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long)" discovery Ziyi Zhang.
It is simply one of the best movies of the year. Tears streamed down my face at the end like every time I watch "It's A Wonderful Life."
While there are some similarities as a romance in the clash between rural "backwardness" vs. urban development in tightly controlled "Red" China as in the book "Waiting" by Ha Jin, there's a lot less cynicism and more universal humanity.
It isn't just Zhang's beautiful face that's captivating, but her whole body language, even how her pigtails stream behind her as she runs around the countryside in pursuit of love.
Beyond the even more circumspect romance than Jane Austen, the parent/child relationships are just as moving.
But only the opening credits are in English, making it impossible to appreciate who can take credit for what at the end.
(originally written 6/23/2001)
It is simply one of the best movies of the year. Tears streamed down my face at the end like every time I watch "It's A Wonderful Life."
While there are some similarities as a romance in the clash between rural "backwardness" vs. urban development in tightly controlled "Red" China as in the book "Waiting" by Ha Jin, there's a lot less cynicism and more universal humanity.
It isn't just Zhang's beautiful face that's captivating, but her whole body language, even how her pigtails stream behind her as she runs around the countryside in pursuit of love.
Beyond the even more circumspect romance than Jane Austen, the parent/child relationships are just as moving.
But only the opening credits are in English, making it impossible to appreciate who can take credit for what at the end.
(originally written 6/23/2001)