It's been a long time since I've watched a film that deeply affected me in a disturbing way. This movie is a love story between a husband and wife driven apart because of the circumstances beyond their control. It also touches on families torn apart because of the policies in place during Mao's communist rule. While the movie focused on one family, it's easy to envision similar hardships befallen on other families during that time.
The movie focuses on the family dynamic as a result of the fallout of Mao's policies. What made this movie was Gong Li's superb performance. It's been a while since I've seen her act in movies and I was awe struck by her acting in this film. Her portrayal of a woman who forever waits for her beloved husband's return moved me to tears.
The dialogue is minimal in this movies. Instead, the actors convey the sense of loneliness and love between the two people with body language. Gong Li executes this exceedingly well. So much so that I couldn't stop thinking of her character's forlong looks days after watching the movie!
Other reviewers have criticized the director for taking just the last few chapters of the book to turn into a movie. However, I think his focus for this movie was on the fallout rising from Mao's policies, hence only the passing allusion to the Cultural Revolution and the title 'Coming Home'.
I personally thought this movie was Gong Li and Zhang Yimou combo's finest collaboration (just barely edging out To Live).
The movie focuses on the family dynamic as a result of the fallout of Mao's policies. What made this movie was Gong Li's superb performance. It's been a while since I've seen her act in movies and I was awe struck by her acting in this film. Her portrayal of a woman who forever waits for her beloved husband's return moved me to tears.
The dialogue is minimal in this movies. Instead, the actors convey the sense of loneliness and love between the two people with body language. Gong Li executes this exceedingly well. So much so that I couldn't stop thinking of her character's forlong looks days after watching the movie!
Other reviewers have criticized the director for taking just the last few chapters of the book to turn into a movie. However, I think his focus for this movie was on the fallout rising from Mao's policies, hence only the passing allusion to the Cultural Revolution and the title 'Coming Home'.
I personally thought this movie was Gong Li and Zhang Yimou combo's finest collaboration (just barely edging out To Live).