User Reviews

For fans of faster-paced movies, be forewarned: this is extremely slow. For others who love a beautifully-filmed movie or a touching romance story, this Chinese film will do nicely.

Zhang Ziyi, who has now become an International star thanks to Crouching Tiger, Hero, House Of Flying Daggers and Memoirs Of A Geisha, never looked prettier and more appealing than here. Maybe that's because she plays such a sweet, innocent, non-violent (no martial arts here) character: a woman smitten with a new teacher in town and one who will go any lengths (in a totally pure sense) to be noticed and attract this man, mainly in the form of incredible patience.

This is one of the prettiest movies I've seen on DVD. It helps to be a fan of Ziyi and appreciate her beauty, because there are many shots of her face as she just stares looking for her man. This character gives new meanings to the words faithful, steadfast and devotion.

The film is actually two stories: the here-and-now about an old man and woman, and a long flashback telling the love story of how they met. In the first segment, the man had just died and the woman is grieving and making funeral arrangements. They involve walking with the casket a long way home, hence the title. The middle part of the film, the romance, features Ziyi. That middle segment - the courtship - is in brilliant, almost stunning-looking color. The beginning and end of the film are both in black-and-white. The cinematography for both parts is magnificent.

The Road Home is a movie about a very standard and simple love on the first site story. The beauty is in the great acting and the spirit that comes out of the actors.

I liked a lot to watch how people in such villages live and how they dress and the movie gave attention to many daily events of those people.

Again, the acting is gorgeous, but the values that the movie is showing is great also and the strong bounds in the family is there in the movie and you can see how much the love and respect of a sun would make him do to meet his mothers wishes and how grateful student can be to a teacher gave his life to them.

Another point that I liked in the movie is how the director use color. In the current events, you will see black and white scenes and when flashbacks start the colors will come a life. The old days are better and there was the real life for the characters of this movie not the current days, except for the day the sun took his father's place in the school and start teaching the students of the village.

Great movie that I would love to watch again and again.

How often do we wonder, or take the time to reflect upon, how it is that we came to be where we are? How much do we know of what went before us; or more specifically, of the past that directly affected who and what we are today. Moreover, is it important, or anything we need to know or should? How significant, really, is our past in relation to the present? According to director Yimou Zhang, these questions are not only valid but of paramount importance, which he aptly illustrates in his lyrically beautiful film, `The Road Home,' written for the screen by Shi Bao, adapted from his own novel, `Remembrance.' Without question, at the heart of the film is a monumental yet simple story of true love in the purest sense, and of the devotion which renders that love eternal. But the film transcends even that, and within the greater context indicates the impact of the past upon the present, which is summed up in a single line from the film: `Know the past, know the present.' And know, too, that the love portrayed in this story is the kind of love that is abiding, and that which sustains all that makes life worth living. It's a veritable journey of the soul; one that will touch you deeply and linger in your memory long after the screen has gone dark.

Upon receiving the news that his father has died, Luo Yusheng (Honglei Sun) leaves the city to return to his home, a small village in the mountains, to bury his father and comfort his bereaved mother, Zhao Di (Yulian Zhao). When he arrives, however, he discovers that his mother will not be consoled until her wish concerning the burial of her husband, Luo Changyu (Hao Zheng) is fulfilled. In keeping with a long standing tradition and superstition, Di insists that his coffin be carried by hand by the men of the village along the road connecting the village and the city, insuring by so doing that in death Changyu will always be able to remember his way home.

Yusheng quickly finds that realizing his mother's request will be no easy task; their village is small and all of the able-bodied men have left for the city, leaving only children and those too old for such an arduous undertaking. And it is winter, a harsh time of year in the mountains. But Di is adamant, and so Yusheng sets about the business of fulfilling her request. And as he does so, he reflects upon the story of his parents; a story well known throughout the village, for theirs was a love that was unbridled and boundless, the likes of which no one in the village had ever know before. Or since.

This film, so wonderfully crafted and delivered by director Zhang, is altogether ethereal and transporting; he tells the story in simplistic terms, and yet it is in that very simplicity that he finds the genuine honesty and truth that provides such an emotional impact and makes this love story one that rivals any the screen has ever known. Aided by the masterful cinematography of Yong Hou, Zhang achieves that same sense of transcendence that defines much of Akira Kurosawa's films, such as `Ran' and `Akira Kurosawa's Dreams,' or Ang Lee's `Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.' There is not a superfluous moment in the entire film, and Zhang proves that capturing pure emotion with the camera can express more than pages of dialogue recited by an actor. And with his lens, Zhang opens up the very heart of the film and lays it bare for all to see and feel, finding more in the eyes of his characters and in their expressions than words could ever convey. It's a study of human nature that is disarming in it's candor, and quite simply a brilliant piece of filmmaking by a director with an irrefutably incisive understanding of the human condition.

Without question, though, the single aspect that makes this such an unforgettable film is the performance (in her motion picture debut) by Ziyi Zhang as the young Zhao Di. A young woman of exquisite beauty, she has a sublime screen presence that is a portrait of the angelic, and her innate ability to silently express the myriad emotions called for by her character is used to great effect by director Zhang. Ziyi's portrayal is one of youthful innocence mixed with stubborn determination, which gives her character the necessary depth to be entirely convincing, and she will win you over in a heartbeat. She is so affecting that near the end, when Di, now an old woman, is hurrying across a rickety foot bridge, the same bridge we've seen the young Di traverse many times on her way to and from the schoolhouse (which is central to the story), despite the weathered age so evident on her face, because of the lasting impression made by Ziyi, you realize that she still bears the heart of the young woman you've come to care so much about by this time, and you understand that age is superficial; that this is a shell housing the spirit and the true beauty that resides within. It's a beautiful moment to behold, and ours forever, due to the extraordinary performance and presence of the delicate Ziyi Zhang, as well as the tremendous sensitivity and care with which she is presented by director Zhang.

The supporting cast includes Bin Li (Grandmother), Guifa Chang (Old Mayor), Wencheng Sung (Mayor) and Zhongxi Zhang (Crockery Repairman). A love story told sincerely from the heart is a treasure that endures forever, like a painting by Monet or Renoir; and like those artists, director Zhang is nothing less than an impressionist behind the camera, capturing the distinctive rhythms of life and love for all time in `The Road Home,' a gentle, poetic film that will make it's way into the hearts of all who experience it. And therein remain, forevermore. 10/10.

In my country you can "rent" DVD and VHS movies for free at the local libraries. One day I visited my local library and picked out a few random dvds and went home to have a movie marathon-weekend. One of these dvds was "The Road Home". By looking at the cover, I didn't think this was a movie for me, but anyhow I started watching it late at night. After the first few minutes had passed I thought it looked like a pretty boring movie. The first scenes are shot in black and white from a snow covered little village somewhere in the Chinese wilderness... I quickly decided to turn it off and hit the bed. The next day I had little to do. The weather outside was crap so I decided to stay in. I got bored and had nothing to do so I reluctantly started watching "The Road Home" from where I left off... This is probably one of the best things I've done so far in my life ;-) Since that day I've bought the DVD and seen the movies about 4-5 times and it's simply one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen (and I've seen a few!)... To give you an idea: I persuaded two of my best friends to join me watching the movie. They didn't have high expectations as this is as far from the Hollywood action they normally favourise when going to rent a movie. They are men in their 30's and one of them is a pretty "macho" guy. When the end-titles started scrolling, both of them had to wipe their eyes :-))) They where actually crying! I guess this is more of a story than a movie review, but I hope it's enough to give this movie the attention it deserves ;-)

This movie had the wonderful ability to remind me what it was like to be an 18-year-old in love. I did not live in China, but it was heart-rending experience, and one that brought me closer to who I am today.

I also appreciated the opportunity to remember the death of my father, when I was 24, and the stories I know of his life and how he and my mother met, and the impact he had on the lives of the people who knew him.

This movie also taught me more about China's varied geography--I had no idea there were birch trees and prairie farms there, as in the Kansas of my childhood.

I highly recommend this film, it helps me remember that we are connected to those whom we have never met, because we all can feel love and remember the best parts of life.

Stick with it, this movie builds its emotional punch gradually, poetically. After I put it on, I began to wonder whether this was just a schmaltzy cutesy, light nothing, sellout effort by a hit and miss director. I even considered turning it off before the color scenes, but luckily I gave it a few extra minutes, and it paid off very well. It's one of my top three movies of the year. In fact, I think it's nearly perfect, but for that dull beginning. And I now believe that Zhang Yimou is more hit than miss. The direction was so good, that I see traces of movies from all times and places in it, including Chaplin and old Hollywood, Iranian cinema from the 90's, and Italian cinema from the 90's.

Other films that I think you will like if you loved this include: Jane Campion's "Bright Star", Michael Radford's "Il Postino", Terrence Malick's "The New World", any movie by Majid Majidi, but particularly "Baran", and maybe Zhang Yimou's earlier film "Huozhe".

To sum up: After a slow beginning, the movie builds and fills the heart and mind with sweet goodness, which is a pretty awesome way to feel.

I have always been a big fan of Zhang Zimou, the director of this film. I have seen several of his films..To Live, Raise the Red Lantern and most recently Hero. The Road Home is a sensitive and beautiful film centering on the story of the courtship between between a young country girl and a teacher..The story is simple yet poignant and the actors are wonderful! The scenery is breathtaking and Zhang tells the story in a hushed tone and lets it unwind to it's emotionally wrenching conclusion..I highly recommend this movie for the culture, the story and the wonderfully understated acting..such a refreshing change of pace from the "in your face" mainstream films of today...

and I may say that I rather liked the film. It was quiet, tender, sweet... A little slow sometimes maybe, certainly not a film for every audience. But nice.. It got me thinking how China is such a unique country, with such unique people. If you like chinese cinematography in general, I strongly recommend it. And Zhang Ziyi is adorable.

This movie is a roller-coaster between joy and sorrow, one moment you're crying when the love of her life leaves the village, only to cry from happiness five minutes later when she finds a lost item given to her by the same man. I do not think I have ever seen such a beautiful story and screenplay. Many times during the movie I was brought to tears. Both from sadness as well as from happiness. I have just seen Ziyi Zhang in a marvelous part I will never forget. She deserves an Oscar for the part she played if you ask me,

no one has ever moved me as much as she just did, I still have tears in my eyes...

Music, photography, acting, direction and story all combine in this simple yet sumptuous tale of the love of a young woman for the teacher who comes to her village. The film bookends with a funeral, a son returning from the city to bury his father. His parents' courtship is then relayed in flashback, stark black, white and steel grey blasted landscapes giving way to rich hues of brown, red and yellow. The flashback structure tells you there is no tension or dread for the couple; they are fated to be together. It is the lyrical coming together of these two souls in a sun-drenched luscious pastoral scene, a tender soundtrack occasionally commenting on proceedings. The subtitles are fine but I suspect there is poetry in the original Chinese. Zhang Ziyi simply melts your heart the moment she smiles. A quiet, unassuming, rewarding film.

This film tells the story of innocence and love. It's is not overly sentimental and performances are honest and sincere. The change in color is very symbolic as happy memories are depicted with plush colors. Zhang Ziyi as Zhao Di is really great here as her determination, will, and very giving nature makes her all the more likeable. Her sweet smile is very infectious! I was moved when she accidentally falls and drops here bag while running; emphasized the whole importance of the bowl. Very moving scene.

Director Zhang Yimou deserves credit for beautifully telling the story. Simple things (changing color of season from spring to winter) make for some stunning visuals like wheat fields flowing with the breeze and brightly leaf filled forests. Add a serene soundtrack and this is a movie worth seeing. See it for my sweetie Zhang Ziyi!

Although beautifully shot and superbly acted this is nothing but a run of the mill melodrama, full of overused sentimental and predictable cliches.

This could have been a wonderful and touching story and it is unfortunate that such a good and deservedly prestigious director as Yimou chose the easy narrative way out.

From the first frames of this classic tale of love, I was absolutely drawn in to feel as though I was taken from a movie and into a tale of the story of two people who fell in love. There was no sappy story, and actually, there wasn't even a single kiss. But one could feel a sense of passion and love from all the characters and those who had a hand in completing this elegant tale. My goodness, I didn't feel as though I were watching people acting. I felt as if they were the actual people. The elders, towns folk, and main characters all embraced their roles down to the last thread of clothing, and it seems as though the location was an actual remote town. There was only a simple plot, where a son returns home by the request of the mayor, to a town where a grieving mother has to bury her husband, who once had taught at the town's school.

The writing was crafted quite well. The cast and crew's work showed their dedication. Definitely a movie for all ages, but a must for those who still believe in love and destiny. Although it's a tear- jerker, it's because the viewer feels for the characters, not because we had been force- fed sentimental moments. No one was killed, not a shot was fired, no cute animals, and no scenes of kissing. I'm trying to even remember if the mother and father had even held hands, yet one can feel that they both truly loved each other. Kudos to director Zhang Yimou, who crafted a thoughtful, moving, and believable movie.

It is simply the most touching and beautiful movie I have ever seen.

A young man returns to his home village after his fathers death. There he meets his mother in deep sorrow. He finds a picture of his parents, and starts telling the story on how they met. I saw this after seeing Crouching Tiger, Hidden dragon. It is a totally different movie, but equals in acting, photography, music and quality. This is the kind of movie and kind of story Hollywood could never make. Hollywood romantic movies looks like pure plastic after this one.

This movie should have been released in mainstream theaters!

Simple, yet superb storytelling... a profoundly emotional experience... genuine and heartfelt... exquisite... breathtakingly beautiful...

Some movies leave you feeling dirty as you walk out of the theater, but this movie leaves you feeling clean and refreshed!

This is one drama that should be seen on the big screen, definitely.

I feel sorry for the mainstream people who missed it in the art-houses or don't know how good it is or don't know that it exists!

This film would have been a success in the big multi-plexes. I really believe that. An add campaign featuring colorful full page adds highlighting the films' critical praise and the actress Ziyi Zhang would have done the trick. The public is more sophisticated than Hollywood thinks. I'm sure significant numbers of young people would have flocked to see this film had it been released in mainstream theaters. Cinematic experiences like THE ROAD HOME are a rarity indeed.

Not a lot happens in The Road Home. This is a romance that lacks the typical trappings of Hollywood romances. There are no misunderstandings, no passionate scenes, no talk of fate, little drama of any sort. You are never in doubt these two get together, because you are told over and over that they do. The movie is not about suspense, but simply about watching something unfold.

What you have is a simple, pretty little movie about a young girl who develops a crush on a new schoolteacher in her village. She throws herself at him in a very chaste way, and a tremendous amount of the movie is pictures of the pretty young girl in beautiful fields and forests looking at him from a distance with happiness or anxiousness. In hindsight it's a little silly, but it works.

I found the first half of the movie a little slow, although by the halfway point, as the movie moved from non-eventful to slightly eventful, it became increasingly touching.

It's not really a great love story. The girl basically just thinks the guy is pretty. And while it's not a typical Hollywood romance, it still is a little manipulative. But even though I usually don't like movies where little happens, I genuinely enjoyed this one.

The original Chinese title of this film is simply "My Father and Mother" (Wo De Fuqin He Muqin). It is ironic the English title "The Road Home" seems more to the point.

To me, this movie is about the Home and the Road leading to the Home. That Home is Zhao Di's love to the village teacher. He is her destiny and eternity. The Road to Home is the road we see Di runs, walks, stalks and waits, a road that gives Di at times unbound joy of love and hope, but also trepidation, anxiety and deep sorrow, a road that witnesses Di's unfailing faith and determination.

Speaking of the road, most foreigners may not notice the peculiar way in which Zhao Di (Zhang Ziyi) runs or walks, and she runs a lot in the film. This is not the way Zhang Ziyi would run when she is not playing the role (remember the agile and elegant Zhang Ziyi in Hidden Dragon and Crouching Tiger?), but it is the very familiar way countryside girl/women in China run, especially those in northern and colder parts of China.

Playing a Chinese peasant girl is a particular study, Zhang Ziyi may have failed in subtleties here and there, but her run and walk are succeeding convincingly. When Di finally first meets face to face with her lover on the road, she quickly walks away, and that walk by Zhang Ziyi is the quintessential Chinese peasant girl's walk when under public attention or embarrassment – a priceless walk.

There is an unspoken but important undercurrent in Di's relationship to her lover - she is a peasant girl but he is a town "citizen". In those days of China (1957), and still to certain degree even today, they practically belong to different classes. Di's blind but all-knowing mother once alludes Di of that to discourage Di of her love dream.

Di is illiterate, as most girls of her days are, but he is educated. This difference traditionally also amounts to a class distinction. Di clearly has a reverence and a fascination with literacy, something she and her village never have. She adores his literary voice in teaching and listens to it all the time. He hardly talks and when talking speaks little and in low voice, but through Di ears, we hear her lover's literary voice loud and clear and plenty. His literary voice and the newly built village school represent a new dimension and horizon for her, something that awakes her and draws her.

Di is a peasant girl. Girls in countryside those days don't even date, leave alone active seeking out men. Di's "freedom" love affair is way ahead of her villagers and of her time. But he is her destiny, her Home, thus ensues the saga of an extraordinary Road to Home. Di has to run, run to express and release her unbound joy of love, run to see and in presence of her lover, run to battle with the unsurmountable taboo, run to avoid facing up her class deficiencies, run to delay the inevitable encounter…

But Di otherwise stays close to her basics: the vast mother earth and landscape, the changing color and hue as the sun moves, the winding dirt road, the crops, the trees, the water from the well, the loom, the cloth, the huge adobe oven, the kitchen filled with warmth of bellowing steam and rays of sun shine, the food, many kinds of food, and that big white ceramic bowl with blue flower pattern. These are Di's elements.

The story happens in the politically fateful year of 1957 when Mao launches his anti-rightist movement that causes many great suffering. Di's lover is also implicated. Such an eventful turn of fortune can be a ready drama to be played out with great effects, but instead, we only hear the village mayor saying: "these things are city folk's affair that we won't be able to understand". And of course, the poor Di has to wait a few more years before finally unites her lover.

It should be no surprise that the unfailing Zhang Yimou is again at his mastery, turning a simple and almost cliché story into such a deeply touching and moving film. What is surprising is the great performance by Zhang Ziyi, considering the fact that this is her film debut. Of course, Yimou's camera and directorship helps, lucky Ziyi.

Sadly though, this film, like many other of Zhang Yimou's, is not well received in China. The quietness, the lack of dialog, the meticulous nuance in subtlety and the full blown saturation of colors seem to have counter effect with many Chinese audience. There has been consistent complaint by audience in China that Zhang's films are made catering to foreigners' taste and curiosity. It doesn't help either that Zhang's films are always popular oversea, while many excellent domestic films by Chinese taste get no foreign recognition.

Zhang Yimou is a great director; his `Jou Dou' and `Raise the Red Lantern' are masterpieces. For no other reason, ‘The Road Home', with its naive love story and use of easy cinematographic formulas, is a bit of a disappointment. No doubt some of Yimou's qualities are here, such as his capacity to give life to characters with admirable dignity and tenacity (as Zhao Di), and his acute eye for exquisite landscapes and for color. But `The Road Home' does not go beyond this combination of nice cinematography (of a hilly Chinese village during springtime and winter) and a simple romantic plot (the young woman who takes care of her blind mother falls in love with the village teacher). The clichés and predictable formulas are frequent: the grandiose and melodramatic musical score emphasizing emotion; the slow-motion camera for ecstatic moments; the repetitive close-up of Ziyi Zhang's beautiful and inebriated face; the artificial plot obstacles adjourning the promised love. Though beautiful in its images, `The Road Home' lacks vigor and originality: it is too much style for little content (6/10).

"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)

This is a very pretty film but it is far from a great movie. It has some nice aspects to it but the problems are huge. First, the central part of the film (the effort by a young girl to attract the notice of a new school teacher in her remote mountain village) is totally lacking in drama because we are told, over and over, that the two characters marry and have a child. So, what could have been a drama is instead nothing but nostalgia. Second, there is no relationship between the young girl and the school teacher. They meet (on film) exactly two times and only have perhaps 5 minutes of dialog. The rest of the time the camera is focused on Ziyi Zhang's admitedly beautiful face, or the camera follows her running through the woods, or follows her walking to the well, etc. This is NOT a love story, instead it is about a beautiful, uneducated young woman's single-minded quest to gain the notice of a young man.

A love story would show you both characters, this movie is completely one sided, it is totally focused on the young girl. I really had to wonder what the attraction was between the two. Yes, she is beautiful, a good cook, a fine weaver, and she is in love with the new teacher. But what does he want? What does he care about? Who is he? We, the audience really know almost nothing about him, all we know is these educational mantras he says to his students. These mantra are all about learning and knowledge and yet his wife shares none of these goals or beliefs about writing, reading, or learning in general. So, what does he see in her? Her own mother tells the girl that she has no chance to win him and reason would say she is right. Yet it happens and instead of exploring this strange event, the movie robs it of any drama and never explores the relationship between the two characters.

Why the movie spent fully 40 minutes of run-time on the present-day is a mystery to me. It was uninteresting, it added little to nothing of my understanding of the characters.

All in all, a failure of a movie. Pretty, good potential, but a wasted opportunity.

Inspiring.Touching.I don't understand some criticism about the so call lack of scenes about the two lovers.Sometimes images can tell more than words and sometimes words can tell more than images.When the son say that his father when they finally get together never left his mother anymore i think those words say it all.It wouldn't be necessary to tell all the history,like their marriage,their routine,that would be predictable,not like the way the director wisely did.One thing that i notice is that people perhaps did not understand that the School itself is a character,an important character with meanings for everybody.And its not about a crush of two young.It is about education,tradition,philosophy of life,respect,spirituality.Its just simple human feelings,spontaneous.For some people maybe hard to understand the nature of this movie.For those who criticize i respect your opinion but reflect more and you will see a message of love.

Great small-budget movie that delivers the goods, even if it is a tad sentimental. Young man return home from the city to the remote village of his parents on learning that his father, the schoolteacher, has died. The rest of the film is largely a flashback tracing the remarkable story of devotion between his parents to each other and the devotion of his father's students to their beloved teacher. The acting throughout is superb (Ziyi Zhang impressed me much more in The Road Home than in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) but the real treat is the wonderful photography that makes you want to drink in the colours and scenes at every shot. A beautiful film. From the director of Not One Less and Red Sorghum.

For a Zhang Yimou movie, this one is quite disappointing. The cinematography is superb, but that's about it. And the lovely scenery looks so familiar if you have seen "Not One Less". In fact it repeats the movie in portraying the stubborness of Chinese women -- without caring for the feelings or limitations of others. Even many scenes seem to be repeated in the two movies that it seems like the two were made in one shot and edited into two. Otherwise it is really bland when compared to "Not". I think it is high time we spread our focus to other new Chinese directors and stop believing Zhang as the quality trademark.