Together with You (2002)

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.

Director:

Kaige Chen

Writers:

Kaige Chen, Xiaolu Xue (as Xiao Lu Xue)

Stars:

Yun Tang, Peiqi Liu, Hong Chen

14 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Credited 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

Storyline

Young violinist Xiaochun and his father move from their small, provincial town to Beijing so Xiaochun can audition for a prestiguous music academy. Their new life is unfamiliar but full of promise, allowing the young man to truly figure out which direction he wants to take in life.

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Plot Keywords:

music academy | audition | violin prodigy | prodigy | violin | 

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Taglines:

An impossible dream. An incredible journey. And a boy who holds his destiny in his hands.

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language and thematic elements

Did You Know?

Goofs

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.

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Quotes

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

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Alternate Versions

Le virtuose (Quebec French Title)

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Soundtracks

Violin Concerto in D
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

User Reviews

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.

Details

Official Sites:

MGM/UA

Country:

China South Korea

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

13 June 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Together

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$69,209, 1 June 2003

Gross USA:

$1,151,941

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,687,167

Company Credits

Production Co:

21 Century Shengkai Film, 21st Century Hero Film Investments, Big Bang Creative

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1