Qian li zou dan qi (2005)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Directors:

Yimou Zhang
Yasuo Furuhata (co-director: Japan)

Writers:

Bin Wang (story)
Yimou Zhang (story)

Release Date:

22 December 2005 (China)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A Japanese father travels to China's Yunnan province in the place of his ailing son to film a famous folk-opera star.

Plot Keywords:

Hospital | China | Japanese | Cancer | Village

Awards:

4 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Ken Takakura	...	Gou-ichi Takata
Shinobu Terajima	...	Rie Takata
Kiichi Nakai	...	Ken-ichi Takata (voice)
Ken Nakamoto	...	Electrician
Jiamin Li	...	Li Jiamin
Jiang Wen	...	Jasmine
Lin Qiu	...	Lingo
Li Bin Li	...	Director (as Bin Li)
Ziliang Chen	...	Warden Chen
Zhezhou He	...	Village Chief
Zhenbo Yang	...	Yang Yang

Also Known As:

Riding Alone (International: English title) (informal short title)
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (USA) (new title)
Tanki, senri o hashiru. (Japan)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild thematic elements.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

Hong Kong | China | Japan

Language:

Mandarin | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Malaysia:U | Sweden:Btl | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | South Korea:All | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China

Company:

Beijing New Picture Film Co.

Trivia:

The scenes filmed in Japan were directed by Yasuo Furuhata. He has had a long successful collaboration with lead actor Ken Takakura.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the village scene Mr. Takata has to move to the highest location to make a phone call. In the following scene however he can receive phone calls while at a banquet in the lower part of the village.

A ride with Zhang Yimou

It has been a long time since Zhang last pull an intimate angle on his film. It feels good to watch a simple story that filled our emotions right to the brim.

If i'm not wrong. this is the first time Zhang focus on MAN's emotion. His protagonist have always been females. (The 2 most famous actress from china - gongli and zhang ziyi is a result of his great foresight.) Zhang Yimou possess a good eye for casting. Both old man and little boy exudes certain stunning charisma that i find them look alike to each other. Both possess a ruggard face that reads hardship and strength. Ironically these man and boy of rock are hit by the softness of kinship. whatever it is, they stand tall in the face of sad history. watching the heart map of a solid MAN like takakura is one of the most touching thing for me. i was moved by the story.

it was so rare to watch the male characters to be dissect by Zhang. When that happens, they are much pale (quiet & reserved) in comparison to the other female characters in zhang's previous film. for me, that is novelty. kudos to zhang for reinventing himself!