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The Road Home Details

1999 DVD Certificate U.gif
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 1450 members

A man returns to the village where he was raised to help his mother arrange his father's funeral in this romantic drama about the courtship of his parents and the value of tradition and devotion. Upon his return to the village of Sanheutun, Luo Yusheng (Sun Honglei) finds his aging mother seized with grief over the death of her .. Read more

Starring Ziyi Zhang, Sun Honglei, Zheng Hao, Zhao Yuelin
Director Yimou Zhang
Genres Drama, World Cinema

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The Road Home

A man returns to the village where he was raised to help his mother arrange his father's funeral in this romantic drama about the courtship of his parents and the value of tradition and devotion. Upon his return to the village of Sanheutun, Luo Yusheng (Sun Honglei) finds his aging mother seized with grief over the death of her husband. She insists that her son help her arrange a traditional funeral for his father in which the villagers carry his casket by foot many miles from the hospital back to the village. In an attempt to assess the importance of his mother's wishes, Luo contemplates his parents's marriage. The grainy black and white footage of Luo's China bursts into vibrant color as the story of the courtship of Luo's parents unfolds in a flashback. Zhao Di, (Zhang Ziyi), the most beautiful girl in the village, falls in love at first sight with Changyu (Zheng Hao), a primary-schoolteacher. As their feelings for each other deepen so does the symbolism of the only road that leads from the village to the city.

Starring Ziyi Zhang, Sun Honglei, Zheng Hao, Zhao Yuelin
Director Yimou Zhang
Studio SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Run time DVD: 1 hr 26 mins
Certificate DVD Certificate U.gif
Genres Drama, World Cinema
Language Mandarin
Subtitles Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Turkish
Released DVD: 16 Apr 2001
Production year: 1999
Format DVD

  • Critics' reviews (4) of The Road Home

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  • "...Tenderhearted....Seamless construction and exquisite tonal balance....Ms. Zhang's intensely concentrated performance conveys a current of stubborn, obsessive passion..."

    • New York Times
    • Posted 11 Mar 2005
  • 2 stars out of 4

    Simply told, a straightforward romance, a story of patience and fidelity, that also reasserts the worth of traditional values over crass materialism.

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
    • Posted 02 Mar 2006

  • Most helpful member's review of The Road Home

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  • 9 out of 11 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    Magic cinema with a big heart

    When a man returns to his rural Chinese village to bury his father it provides an opportunity to look back on his father's arrival as the first school teacher in that village.

    Whilst the story sounds simple and uninteresting the film most certainly is not! What strikes most impressively is the way characters are developed and portrayed with great sympathy and interest. Any film that makes you care for its characters is on the right track and this is most certainly one of them. Add to this a striking cinematography with beautiful haunting images and you get one of those rare poetic moments in cinema that often seems to be forgotten by the mainstream.

    This film is definitely a winner and with 86min running time short enough to give it try even if you atre not yet convinced by this review.

    • ThomasKus
      • ThomasKus from Gloucester
      • Posted 08 Aug 2004 07:47

  • Most recent members' review of The Road Home

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  • 5 out of 6 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    A simple and beautiful story

    This movie's magic is purely in its simplicity. There is no complicated plot, no huge climax to the story and no villians. It's just a very moving tale of a young man and woman who meet and fall in love.

    The cinematography is stunning, and Zhang Ziyi is perfect in her first ever movie, as a young and innocent 18 year old who falls head over heels in love at first sight.

    With all the movies out there these days that involve adultery and betrayal, it's nice to watch this uncomplicated romance about true love that lasts a lifetime.

      • jeninbrighton from East Sussex
      • Posted 22 Mar 2005 19:37

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Rating breakdown

1,450 Member ratings
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223
  • 90
151
  • 80
339
  • 70
269
  • 60
213
  • 50
109
  • 40
65
  • 30
38
  • 20
31
  • 10
12

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      • A man returns to the village where he was raised to help his mother arrange his father's funeral in this romantic drama about the courtship of his parents and the value of tradition and devotion. ...