Tom's Recommended Film of the Week

Wo de fu qin mu qin or The Road Home

A Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2000 and an Audience Award at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival are good endorsements for this pleasant little chinese film - The Road Home - but it was the story line which first attracted me. A marriage born from love in a time and culture where arranged marriages were the accepted method and class distinction was a powerful tool to keep people in their place. 

A sentimental story, with minimal chinese dialogue with english subtitles, The Road Home succeeds in holding the viewers attention, primarily because of the fine acting of Zhang Ziyi. Her characters story is one that most people can understand and relate to on a base emotional level. Most of us have experienced it to some degree in our own lives and this holds us intent on her pursuit.

Technically, I enjoyed the use of b/w filming for the opening and closing, with color reserved for the extensive flashback which makes up the largest potion of this film. The sharp and vibrant color is a good reflection of the hightened emotion experienced in that period in the main characters lives.

Don't let the language barriers deter you, give The Road Home a try.