The Road Home (1999)
"Wo de fu qin mu qin" (original title)

Prompted by the death of his father and the grief of his mother, a man recalls the story of how they met in flashback.

Director:

Yimou Zhang

Writers:

Shi Bao (novel), Shi Bao (screenplay)

Stars:

Ziyi Zhang, Honglei Sun, Hao Zheng

15 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Ziyi Zhang	...	Zhao Di, Young (as Zhang Ziyi)
Honglei Sun	...	Luo Yusheng (as Sun Honglei)
Hao Zheng	...	Luo Changyu (as Zheng Hao)
Yulian Zhao	...	Zhao Di, Old (as Zhao Yulian)
Bin Li	...	Grandmother
Guifa Chang	...	Mayor, Old
Wencheng Sung	...	Mayor
Qi Liu	...	Carpenter Xia, Old
Bo Ji	...	Carpenter Xia
Zhongxi Zhang	...	Crockery Repairman

Storyline

City businessman Luo Yusheng returns to his home village in North China for the funeral of his father, the village teacher. He finds his elderly mother insisting that all the traditional burial customs be observed, despite the fact that times have changed so much, and that it involves many people carrying his father's body back to the village - the road home. As Yusheng debates the complications involved in organising such a big feat, he remembers the magical story of how his father and mother first met and got together.

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Plot Keywords:

village | teacher | burial | flashback | death | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics [us]

Country:

China

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

16 October 1999 (China)

Also Known As:

The Road Home

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$75,368 (USA) (25 May 2001)

Gross:

$1,280,090 (USA) (26 October 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia, Guangxi Film Studio

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmmaker Yimou Zhang has said that this film was his tribute to and heavily influenced by the work of Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami.

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Quotes

Zhao Di, Young: I'll be waiting for you.

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Connections

Referenced in Jersey Girl (2004)

User Reviews

Wonderful Film!

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...