Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2006)

A Disappointing Continuation

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles is a lovely tale about a father who, knowing nothing about his son's adult life-aside form the fact that he is dying-decides to finish what he thinks his son has started with the utmost care and desire to complete. The film speaks about what people will do to regain the love they lost and how the journey is almost more precious than the destination.Mr. Takata leaves his life in Japan to see his estranged son who is has liver cancer and is dying. when he arrives at the hospital, he is coldly rebuffed bye his son. His daughter in law, Rie, gives him a tape that his son, Ken-ichi, made. With the tape he discovers that his son has a passion for Chinese folk opera and impulsively resolves to travel to china to film ''riding alone for thousands of miles'' for his son. It is interesting that Yimou never shows Ken-ichi, and it is necessary to give the audience the same feeling of longing that Mr. Takata feels, the same feeling of distance and separation. Also, refraining from free-flowing emotions evokes the strict composure of Japanese culture.Upon traveling to china to finish the video, Ken-ichi's father discovers that he is not the only man who has an imperfect relationship with his son. His journey takes him outside of his shell and into another world. After his wife died, he escaped by disappearing from his son's life and what he knew to be his own. By connecting another father and son he, in a way, heals himself.Much like life, the film is funny and endearing, although gloomy and depressing at times. I liked watching this movie because I felt relaxed and drawn into the story. The scenes where Mr. Takata is staring out into the ocean especially calm me. The rhythm of those scenes coupled with the sound of the beach gave me a the feeling of being there. I like the that the title is the title of the play that Mr. Takata journeys to capture. The plot of the play reflects his own situation because he also travels alone for thousands of miles to help someone (really himself more than his son). I recommend this film to those who enjoy subtlety in story-telling.

Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles is an excellent film that truly depicts the differences in the Chinese and Japanese cultures (not in a negative tone, just different). Yimou Zhang's film creates a sense of isolationism when we see Japan. By and large, it feels like Japan has lost touch of its culture by keeping up with today's technology/modernization. In Japan, the audience never sees more than one person in a shot, with respect to Mr. Takata and his daughter-in-law. The colors that the audience sees in Japan reflect Takata's emotional demeanor, blue and gray. Although the fishing village that Mr. Takata moves to after his wife died was very tranquil, it creates a very somber tone and adds to the feeling of absolute solitude.On the other hand, Zhang depicts China as a group-oriented culture that remains connected to its ancient roots and traditions. China feels more warm and accepting than Japan due to its vibrant colors that are used to express the rich heritage of the operas.The opera, "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles," proves to be both a critical and also meaningless component of the movie. While filming the opera becomes the goal of Mr. Takata to re-connect with his son, it is not the opera that connects them; the heartfelt expression to travel to China is what Takata's son responds to. However, the question still remains as to whether or not Mr. Takata's son actually said anything or if it was just a ploy to get Mr. Takata to come home.Zhang Yimou does a great job of bringing Mr. Takata's emotions to a forefront. It was especially moving when Mr. Takata had to film a tape of himself asking for permission to go into the prison to tape the opera. It makes the audience wonder whether or not Takata would've been able to express his emotions if he wasn't twice removed by the TV screen and through the translation.All in all, I commend Zhang Yimou for a creating a movie that provokes the audience to think outside of the box.

With "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles," Zhang Yimou proves how much you can take out of a simple story. I found myself emotionally involved and suffered with Takata (the main character) on his long and sometimes lonely journey.This intimate character drama is about a Japanese dad (Takata) who travels to China to reconnect with his dying son. When Takata realizes that his son has not forgiven him for mistakes he made in the past, he decides to finish a documentary that his son worked on but wasn't able to finish.On his journey to China, we experience along with Takata, how cultures and people can clash but also learn from each other. And, sometimes our dreams and goals can change without a warning.This is not a martial arts film but its shots and cinematography are just as beautiful as we are used to from his past films such as "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers.

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, directed by Yimou Zhang and co-directed with Yasuo Furuhata, left me feeling a little sad and at the same time inspired by the fathers persistence.It was very interesting to see the similarities and differences of the Japanese and Chinese cultures side by side as the story intertwined the two. I, myself being married into a first generation Chinese family here in America; I found it fascinating how the Chinese culture was depicted as being more open, warm and caring for the foreigner. I did not always find it easy to communicate with my father-in-law, not due to the language barrier, but more because females typically do not join the conversations.The emotional struggles that Takata, the father, overcomes to bring himself to visit his ailing son in the hospital, is a turmoil none of us should have to go through, but because of this thing called pride, it happens time and time again. Pride often has us wait until it is almost too late or is too late to make amends with a family member or friend. Takata realizes this and in his quest to fulfill his son's wishes, tries to reunite another father and son, so they do not go down the same path he is traveling.It is a very touching story that I would highly recommend to those who want to see family values through the eyes of another culture. It makes you reflect on your own conduct towards family and friends and to determine for yourself if amends need to be made.