The Road Home

More and more I seem to be enjoying films from Asian countries. The other night I watched The Road Home which features the lovely Zhang Ziyi, who most of you will probably know from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This Chinese movie was not the slashing swords, flying warriors type of film at all. It was a rather simple love story. It opens in black-and-white as a son returns to his village from the city. His father has died away from the village and his mother wants her husband’s body be carried back for burial. The son argues that he can hire a horse and carriage but the mother insists. The film then changes to color as the story of the young girl falling in love with the young teacher who has come to the village. Then he is arrested and taken away to the city for some political crime. Ultimately he returns and they marry. He continues teaching and has been the village teacher for decades. The young woman waits patiently through the many seasons for his return. Eventually he does and the two marry. As the film returns to black-and-white the son and the village mayor have agreed to find the money to hire men to carry the teacher’s body back to the village for burial. There is a wonderful scene with a hundred people following behind the coffin as the men exchange places carrying the coffin. Behind the people walking there are five or six cars following. Former students of the teacher have heard of his death and have come to pay him homage. A simple story, a love story, and beautifully filmed.