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| The Road Home | 
 enlarge | Director: Yimou Zhang
Actors: Ziyi Zhang, Honglei Sun, Hao Zheng, Yulian Zhao, Bin Li
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $20.69
You Save: $9.26 (31%)
New (37) Used (13) from $15.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  107 reviews
Sales Rank: 14042
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: French (Original Language), Mandarin Chinese (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: G (General Audience)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 89
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.6
MPN: 043396061712
ISBN: 0767863526
UPC: 043396061712
EAN: 9780767863520
ASIN: B00005QFE5
Theatrical Release Date: 2000
Release Date: November 27, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new DVD. Fast shipping!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Love is all you need December 12, 2006
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
The Road Home is a powerful film about love and the trials and tribulations one goes through getting there. Right from the start the audience is presented with an undertone of sadness. Although it is ok to fall apart, somebody has to stay strong and take care of business. Often in times of overwhelming sadness the bereaved are so out of touch with reality that everything would fall apart without someone sensible to step into crisis mode.
These scenes of sadness and funeral preparation are intermingled with a beautiful love story. In a small village in China, a young couple is falling in love. This is a unique experience for a backward society where ancient and outdated traditions are still practiced. Sometimes the interactions between Shao Di and Changyu are so subtle that it is hard to catch the hidden meaning behind the exchange. This film really plays up the importance of a glance or a light touch. When you look in someone's eyes, it is beautiful to see understanding gained without the exchange of a single word. I really admire how the directors choose to make this film about love instead of sex. America is a sex-saturated society where many relationships begin and end with a mere exchange of bodily fluids. It is fascinating to me that other cultures can make a sexless film that appeals to more than just children.
Before this class, I had almost no experience with foreign films. Until now, I did not realize there were any films without cussing, violence, and sex being made now a days. I have been so indoctrinated with the Hollywood formula films that I forgot what a true piece of artistry looks like. I did not realize a movie could be both entertaining and educational. Kudos to the Road Home for being so tasteful and entertaining. This is definitely hands down my most favorite film of this class. I am so grateful I was made to watch it. By the end, I found myself almost in tears.
Although just a story the Road Home gives, you hope that true love really does exist. Why would someone risk endangering the wrath of the government for a woman if she was not his true love? It makes you feel good inside when you see a couple fighting against all odds to come back to each other. In western society, we often take dating and falling in love for granted. In our culture, people fall in and out of love every single day. This movie teaches you a great lesson about not taking love for granted. As someone who has fallen in love for the first time it is reassuring to see a couple that had every obstacle in the world placed in front of him or her succeed? I always thought that Sean and I met to young and would not make it. Shoa Di and Changy were young and had every conceivable obstacle in their way. No one thought they would make it. As the critics would say The Road Home is the feel good movie of the year.
Red according to desktop publishing dot com, denotes purity, joy, and celebration. In Chinese culture, red symbolizes happiness and prosperity and is often used for good luck. In the movie if you look close enough you might have seen how the young Shoi Di was wearing red every time she ran into her crush. If you knew anything about the color red, you would know that the red on her jacket is supposed to be an outward symbol of her happiness. She often thinks of marrying the teacher and celebrating the occasion. The red banner in the schoolhouse is used for good luck. Many of the modern day scenes are shown in black and white. According to dictionary dot labor law talk, dot com black and white is used in contrast with color in movies because the scenes or characters done in black and white are either more outdated or dull than the characters and scenes shot in full-color. I think that this assessment is true because the village is a little run down compared to the past. Mostly the only people living there now are old people and a few kids. Most of the citizens have moved on to a more populated area that is more modern and interesting. This town is rather dull.
In the end, you feel attached to the town. It is as if you grew up there yourself.
Words 752
 Underrated Masterpiece! December 2, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I thought this was a beautiful film. With little to do with talking, the legendary director Yimou Zhang (Raise The Red Lantern, To Live, The Story Of Qiu Ju and Hero) uses scenery for emotions in this film, which are so rich. I thought the story was beyond beautiful how the girl would wait until the guy she was in love with, would pick her bowl of food that she made special for him, I loved that she would follow him and try somehow to get his attention. This film is a true love story that you never really see anymore with excellent acting from a radiant Zhang Ziyi, now known as in America Ziyi Zhang. I totally recommend this film for people who love a true romance film that will make you cry.
 where's the love? November 27, 2006
2 out of 33 found this review helpful
Although I applaud the fact that Zhang Yi-mou can portray a love story without reverting back to sexual escapades, this moving is just plain boring! When you are watching it it takes forever and there is also this 30 min. snooze of an intro he takes explaining the background for the lovestory between his parents. Goodness gracious do something! Zhang zi-yi does a great job of prancing about in her pigtails, but I too am flabbergasted as to how his parents ever fell in love. Unbelievably, they said like two words to each other before deciding they loved each other. i dont call that a great love story, I call it a 3rd grade lunch recess fling.
Don't miss this wonderful film! August 21, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This Amazon data lists French only in the Language column but it's an error. This DVD has original Mandarin along with French as audio. It's truly a woderful film. This film reminds you how woderful love is.
A wonderful story told in a wonderful way August 15, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This a tribute to pure, honest, life lasting love but at the same time it is a tribune to the liberation of women from the customs of a society that predetermined their entire life and behavior.
There is something beautiful in every aspect of this film, something that we enjoy and something that we can share with the heroes of this story either this is happiness or sadness.
And yet, one thing stands above all.
The fact that this film can be considered as a an eulogy and tribute to the teachers the world round.
This is where one can see the difference of the teaching as a profession and as a rite, a service to community.
This film says the story of those brave teachers who were ready to dedicate their entire life in order to give to the deprived children of the countryside the basics of education.
My parents were teachers too and in the 30s when they started teaching they too had to accept as part of their salary a daily contribution from the villagers in the form of foodstuff.
I thought of it as degrading and when I saw the same story, told in this film I realized that there were no budgets for education during those years and there was a different approach to contribution either for the survival of the teachers or for building a school etc.
This beautiful story is told in a perfect way through the brilliant directing of Zhang Yimou and the acting of Zhang Ziyi and Zheng Hao
But the one who must be awarded with our respect and admiration is the director of photography Hou Yong who captures light and details in both colour and black/white in such an intensive way.
His ability to reverse the expected and use black/ white for recent scenes and colour when referring to the old story telling is exceptional.
This film is highly recommended for those who love Chinese quality cinema and for those who want to have an introduction in the best the Chinese Film Industry has to offer.
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