The Road Home

A friend loaned us The Road Home (Wo de fu qin mu qin) to watch over the weekend. Spec fiction movie lovers may recognize the film's leading lady, Ziyi Zhang, from her role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Don't expect any fantastical fighting in The Road Home- this film isn't speculative, but it is extraordinarily well-made and beautiful. Contrast, in color and in motion, makes The Road Home a memorable and emotional experience.

Color: Scenes from the modern day portion of the story, in which an elderly woman mourns her recently deceased husband, were shot in black and white. In contrast, the flashback to the courtship of the woman and her husband, blossom into full-blown, gorgeous color. All the hope, youth, joy, and promise of the woman's life are portrayed by her bright red and pink coats, the striking green ribbons tied at the ends of her pigtails, the red banner she weaves, even the vibrant colors of the birch trees in the beautiful autumn countryside. Color remains an important part of the plot, as red becomes the color that first attracts boy to girl. When the love story ends, the viewer is brought back to the present, brought back to black and white.

Motion: Since I don't speak Mandarin, I watched the film subtitled in English- yet I could have almost watched the flashback portion of the film with the sound and subtitles turned off. Ziyi Zhang portrayed most of her character's longing, hope, despair, and joy by running through the village, running through the woods. Whether to catch a glimpse of her would-be lover, to let him catch a glimpse of her red jacket, to bring him food he might or might not eat, The Road Home told much of its story through the act of running motion. This makes the moments when the protagonist stands still heartbreaking and poignant.

Cinema is moving picture, and director Yimou Zhang combines motion and skillful manipulation of colorful image to turn the story of a village woman into a memorable cinematic experience.