Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
Director Zhang Yimou's film Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles is not only a road trip through China but a journey of the heart.
Gou-ichi Takata (Ken Takakura) is an elderly fisherman who lives in a small town in Japan. When he gets a call from his daughter-in-law Rie (Shindou Terajima) telling him that his estranged son Ken-ichi (voice of Kiichi Nakai) is very sick and in the hospital he immediately goes to Tokyo to see him. However, his son is still very upset with him for a past hurt and refuses to see him. Before he returns home Rei gives Takata a tape and tells him to watch it.
After returning home he watches the tape and discovers that his son makes films of various folk operas in China. The tape shows Ken-ichi with an actor named Li (Li Jiamin) who performs in the folk opera Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. Ken-ichi wants to film Li performing but Li tells him that he will have to do it another time. Ken-ichi tells him that he will come back the following year to film it (which is now the present time). This is a surprise to Takata as he knows very little about his son. After a day or so Rei calls him with the sad news that Ken-ichi has terminal liver cancer and does not have long to live.
Takata desperately wants to reconcile with Ken-ichi before his death. He decides to travel to the Yuanan province of China to seek out Li and film the opera for his son to see before he dies.
In his travels he hooks up with an interpreter named Jasmine (Jiang Wen) and her associate Lingo (Lin Qiu). They want to help Takata with his goal but they run into a snag - Li is in jail for three years and cannot perform the opera. They try to convince Takata to use another actor but he only wants to use Li because his son met him a year earlier. That is about all I will tell you regarding the plot. I will say that later on we meet an adorable child name Yang Yang (Zhenbo Yang) who is Li's son.
I have seen most of Zhang's films and I can say that he is a master filmmaker whether he tackles martial arts films like House of Flying Daggers or more personal films like this one. The film is absolutely gorgeous to look at. And Zhang and co-screenwriter Jingzhi Zou have fashioned a beautiful tale that will bring tears to your eyes. All of the acting is good but Takakura is outstanding as Takata. His face conveys many feelings at one time. And we see some remarkable displays of emotions from places that we might not have expected it (sorry, you will have to see the film to know what I am talking about).
This is a film that definitely has a moral to it. Cherish those you love and do not hide your feelings. Give those you care about a hug because you never know when it will be the last time you will see them. And be kind because that is the greatest quality that anyone can have.
Gou-ichi Takata (Ken Takakura) is an elderly fisherman who lives in a small town in Japan. When he gets a call from his daughter-in-law Rie (Shindou Terajima) telling him that his estranged son Ken-ichi (voice of Kiichi Nakai) is very sick and in the hospital he immediately goes to Tokyo to see him. However, his son is still very upset with him for a past hurt and refuses to see him. Before he returns home Rei gives Takata a tape and tells him to watch it.
After returning home he watches the tape and discovers that his son makes films of various folk operas in China. The tape shows Ken-ichi with an actor named Li (Li Jiamin) who performs in the folk opera Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. Ken-ichi wants to film Li performing but Li tells him that he will have to do it another time. Ken-ichi tells him that he will come back the following year to film it (which is now the present time). This is a surprise to Takata as he knows very little about his son. After a day or so Rei calls him with the sad news that Ken-ichi has terminal liver cancer and does not have long to live.
Takata desperately wants to reconcile with Ken-ichi before his death. He decides to travel to the Yuanan province of China to seek out Li and film the opera for his son to see before he dies.
In his travels he hooks up with an interpreter named Jasmine (Jiang Wen) and her associate Lingo (Lin Qiu). They want to help Takata with his goal but they run into a snag - Li is in jail for three years and cannot perform the opera. They try to convince Takata to use another actor but he only wants to use Li because his son met him a year earlier. That is about all I will tell you regarding the plot. I will say that later on we meet an adorable child name Yang Yang (Zhenbo Yang) who is Li's son.
I have seen most of Zhang's films and I can say that he is a master filmmaker whether he tackles martial arts films like House of Flying Daggers or more personal films like this one. The film is absolutely gorgeous to look at. And Zhang and co-screenwriter Jingzhi Zou have fashioned a beautiful tale that will bring tears to your eyes. All of the acting is good but Takakura is outstanding as Takata. His face conveys many feelings at one time. And we see some remarkable displays of emotions from places that we might not have expected it (sorry, you will have to see the film to know what I am talking about).
This is a film that definitely has a moral to it. Cherish those you love and do not hide your feelings. Give those you care about a hug because you never know when it will be the last time you will see them. And be kind because that is the greatest quality that anyone can have.
posted by Film Fanatic | 3:37 PM
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