The Road Home (Wo de fu qin mu qin) poster & wallpaper
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Ziyi Zhang, Li Bin, Zhang Zhan, Honglei Sun, Hao Zheng

Following on the heels of director Zhang Yimou's Not One Less (1999), which won the top prize at the 1999 Venice Film Festival, comes this sensitively-wrought portrait of a young woman's unshakable lo... read more read more...ve. The film opens in the present, shot in gritty black and white, as businessman Luo Yusheng (Sun Honglei) returns to his hometown in the rural Hebei province to attend the funeral of his father. When Luo suggests that the coffin should be brought home from the hospital on a tractor, his aging mother Zhao Di (Zhao Yuelin) rebuffs him, insisting that they conform to custom and have it carried home by local men. Later, as Luo recalls his parent's courtship, the film switches to color and travels back in time about 40 years. A young, beautiful Zhao Di (Zhang Ziyi) find herself falling for the village's handsome new teacher Luo Changyu (Zheng Hao). As the males in the village join together to build a school for the burg, Zhao Di helps the other women prepare food, waiting patiently to meet the strapping educator. Just as their romance begins, Luo is suddenly ordered to leave by the Communist authorities. As Luo packs up and leaves the village, Zhao Di races hither and thither carrying his favorite steamed dumplings, hoping to catch him before he departs. Though the odds of reunion seem slim, Zhao Di steadfastly holds vigil for her lover until miraculously, Luo returns under the cover of the night only to be once again ordered to the city where he has been commanded to stay. The pair are forced to wait another two years until they can be together. This film won the prestigious Silver Bear at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival and the World Cinema Audience Award at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival; the victories were all the more sweet for the director, as The Road Home was rejected outright from the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, prompting Zhang to angrily withdraw his Not One Less from competition. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Flixster Users

88% liked it

8,463 ratings

Critics

89% liked it

80 critics

G, 1 hr. 29 min.

Directed by: Yimou Zhang

Release Date: May 25, 2001

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DVD Release Date: November 27, 2001

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Stats: 726 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (726)

  • jennifxu
    April 30, 2011
    jennifxu
    A really sweet, heartwarming, simple sort of love story. Chinese mysticism meets Hans Christian Anderson sugar. Reminds me of my road home.
  • bbcfloridabound
    February 23, 2010
    bbcfloridabound
    A true Romantic Film Here might even be considered a Chick Flick by some. Its about a man in China who is called home to bury his father, who was the village school teacher, so begins the novel as to how he met the man's mother who was a village girl who fell in love with the tea... read morecher at first sight. Not the typical American Love story, its better then that. Got to give it 5 Stars,
  • kiriyamakazou
    December 31, 2007
    kiriyamakazou
    A simple, gentle but very effective film. Beautifully shot and wonderfully acted The Road Home captures perfectly the sweet melancholy of returning home. A brilliant relationship is brought to life in the most simple ways but they work. A calm and collected film that knows how to... read more tell it's story.
  • binky013
    August 12, 2007
    binky013
    If you miss it from the music, Zhang Yimou has also strategically placed Titanic posters on the set for you to appreciate the enormity of the parallel romance here : ) A wonderful love story without all the drownings and death -- and DiCaprio. I never ever get tired of Z... read morehang Ziyi. What a beautiful face. (08/12/07
  • lesleyanorton
    February 27, 2011
    lesleyanorton
    Chinese drama. Man returns to childhood village to bury father who died in nearby hospital, but mother wants the coffin brought back by foot across the mountains first. Uh oh... long film about long walk with everyone reminiscing, squabbling, developing and reconciling, cue poign... read moreant music and fade. But no, film then cuts back to the early days when mother and father first met and shows the simple story of them falling in love instead.
    Lovely.

  • mvieaddict
    September 16, 2009
    mvieaddict
    Image and video hosting by TinyPic
    I never watched Chinese movies yet, only Koreans so far, but after seeing The Road Home, I became Chinese movies fan. The Road Home ... read morewas such an innocent and pure movie. This movie reminds me of Iranian ones, they have simple themes, but it develops to something beautiful. In the Road home a man comes back to his village in the mountains for his father funeral and he tells the love story of his parents. From the moment Ziyi Zhang enters the movie, her innocent and pretty look gives the viewer a reason to watch. Love it.
  • wumeixian
    August 21, 2011
    wumeixian
    so translated literally it is "My father and mother". It is a very sweeeeettt movie. Simple and sweet. This is how Chinese are. We are so sweet. lol. Well a lot are rude but whatever I'm a sweet one. Anyway, Zhang Ziyi acted beautifully. I can see why she got international attent... read moreion from this movie. A chick flick? I can't say it is, but it kinda is. I would put it in romance drama cos of the fact that it brings up a lot of Chinese culture thing that I also learned from my parents instead of just "love". It is more about a lovey dovey teenage girl back then reacted to love than the love itself. It's also about old Chinese parents and the Chinese morale of parents importance. It's got nice cinematography, and as always, Zhang Yimou's trademark: red is seen everywhere in the movie. The only thing that bothers me I guess is some little nonsense thing I found in the movie. But overall, this movie is sweet, calm, and touching.
  • jjspw
    June 26, 2011
    jjspw
    The brilliant use of color and black & white to emphasize jumps in time and mood is very effective. This is a simple, sweet, charming love story. Beautiful cinematography. Harmonious flow to the plot.
  • nstanosheck
    February 14, 2010
    nstanosheck
    Possibly the most tear-jerking romantic film you will ever see. This girl is willing to do anything for her future husband. This is what true love is all about! True love will wait forever and never dies.
  • pebs1111
    January 31, 2010
    pebs1111
    I loved this movie! A simple love story based on calm passion and purity. Ziyi Zhang did a superb acting job in this film. The music and cinematography are wonderfully choreographed to fit the mood and the pace of the film.

View All The Road Home (Wo de fu qin mu qin) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
August 24, 2001
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

If this film's coda doesn't move you to tears, you'd better make an appointment with your cardiologist.

Susan Stark
August 20, 2001
Susan Stark, Detroit News

A layered, delicately but surely romantic tribute to the simplicity and grace of a bygone era. Full Review

Michael Wilmington
July 19, 2001
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

Celebrates a beauty and heroism around us that we often miss in both our movies and our lives. Full Review

Desson Thomson
July 19, 2001
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Zhang Yimou focuses so frequently on Ziyi's face in extreme close-up that she sticks like a daguerreotype to your retina -- and then your heart. Full Review

Joe Baltake
July 16, 2001
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

It has the ability to break your heart. Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum
June 28, 2001
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

A gentle, engaging narrative of constancy and devotion against all odds. Full Review

Rita Kempley
June 25, 2001
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

Of course, the past always looks better in retrospect, especially to those who have never done without indoor plumbing. Full Review

Edward Guthmann
June 25, 2001
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

Zhang brings to it his masterly gift for visual composition. Full Review

Eric Harrison
June 22, 2001
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle

The film is laced with gentle humor, and its simple story is built on a sure foundation of humaneness. Full Review

Chris Vognar
June 21, 2001
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

This is a film that rescues love from the world of cliché and treats it with the awakening passion it deserves. Full Review

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