Together (2002) He ni zai yi qi (original title)

Director:

Kaige Chen

Writers:

Kaige Chen
Xiao Lu Xue

Release Date:

14 March 2003 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

Some lessons can only be learned by heart.

Plot:

A violin prodigy and his father travel to Beijing, where the father seeks the means to his son's success while the son struggles to accept the path laid before him.

Plot Keywords:

Audition | Violin Prodigy | Violinist | Music Academy | Prodigy

Awards:

10 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Yun Tang	...	Liu Xiaochun
Peiqi Liu	...	Liu Cheng (as Peiqi Lui)
Hong Chen	...	Lili
Zhiwen Wang	...	Prof. Jiang
Kaige Chen	...	Prof. Yu Shifeng
Qiang Chen	...	Hui
Qing Zhang	...	Lin Yu
Hye-ri Kim	...	Prof. Yu's Wife
Bing Liu	...	Debao
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chuan-Yuan Li	...	Tang Rong
Ru-Yun Tang
Haiyan Zhang	...	Child's mother

Directed by
Kaige Chen

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kaige Chen
Xiao Lu Xue

Produced by
Hong Chen	....	producer
Kaige Chen	....	producer
Lee Joo-Ick	....	producer (as Joo-ik Lee)
Bolun Li	....	producer
Ernst Etchie Stroh	....	producer
Xiaoming Yan	....	producer
Buting Yang	....	producer

Original Music by
Lin Zhao

Cinematography by
Jiongqiu Jin
Hyung-ku Kim

Film Editing by
Ying Zhou

Production Design by
Juiping Cao
Luyi Liu

Costume Design by
Yeong-su Ha

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Feng Feng	....	assistant director
Lei Shui	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Roy Braverman	....	sound editor
Danrong Wang	....	sound

Music Department
Roy Braverman	....	music editor
Drew DeAscentis	....	music editor: soundtrack
Chuanyun Li	....	musician: violin solos
Wei Tung	....	musical director

Other crew
Bob Buchholz	....	english language director
Rong Tang	....	hand double: Tang Yun

Production Companies

• 21 Century Shengkai Film
• 21st Century Hero Film Investments
• Big Bang Creative
• China Film Group
• China Movie Channel
• Chinarunn Entertainment Inc.

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• United Artists (2003) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (200?) (Netherlands) (video)
• CDI Films (Argentina)
• Cine Qua Non Films
• EuropaCorp. Distribution
• Future Film (2003) (Finland)
• Geneon Entertainment (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• Italian International Film
• Madman Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation (MGM)
• Momentum Pictures (2002) (UK) (all media)
• Moonstone Entertainment
• Tobis StudioCanal (Germany)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Milan Records  soundtrack

Also Known As:

"He ni zai yi qi" - China (original title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild language and thematic elements

Runtime:

116 min | Argentina:117 min

Country:

China | South Korea

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:All | Australia:G (TV rating) | USA:PG | Argentina:Atp | Singapore:PG | Finland:S | Canada:G | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Company:

21 Century Shengkai Film

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lili offers the bank book to Liu Chen, the shot from behind her shows her holding it out to him in both hands. In the next shot from the front, her hands are holding the bank book in her lap.

Quotes:

Liu Xiaochun:[in Mandarin] Dad, my back itches.
Liu Cheng:[in Mandarin] Here.

Soundtrack:

Scottish Fantasy for Violin, Harp and Orchestra

Chinese experience of love between father and son

Human feelings are universal whether you are a Chinese living in a crowded and vulgar country village or an American living in a comfortable and affluent suburban neighborhood. However, the experiences are different enough that there are subtleties in this Chinese film that only Chinese can truly appreciate.

I never wrote an online comment of a film before even though I have read a great deal. Unlike most of other films, comments on Chen Kaige's "together" is surprisingly divided into two extremes: love it or hate it. Maybe this observation prompted me to write something to express my feelings during and after watching this film.

I grew up in a small town in rural China, very much like the one shown in the film. My father isn't a "vulgar" peasant as the father in the film, and I wasn't a "prodigy" of anything by any measures either. The kind of strong character and sensitivity the kid showed is something I wish I had when I was a teenager. The incredible sacrifice and love the father showed in the film is also a bit surreal to me. In other words, my experience is much more real with little melodrama involved.

However, the film actually made me cry when sitting in the cinema, not just because of the melodrama and the music, more so because it made me miss my own father and remember many small moments between us that are not so much drama but only our daily experiences.

When I left cinema, I overheard a middle-aged American white couple in front of me making comments: "a cute little film, isn't it?" I can tell from the dialogue that they experienced different things when watching the film because they appreciate the details of ordinary Chinese life such as how the coal is used for heating tea. To me, those details are not novelties to appreciate, they WERE my existence and everyday experiences.

I will stop here not to violate the IMDB guideline. After all, everyone's experience is unique. Everyone has their ethos deep from their upbringing and culture. I am just glad that this film brings me a Chinese experience of love between a father and a son that I can relate to.