Oct 23, 2007 10:33 AM
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Though I am addicted to movies of all languages, I rarely try to review them here. And after seeing'The Road Home', I searched MS for reviews, and couldn't find any. Okay lemme start this, I decided.
The story goes like this. A young man returns to his village after hearing his dad's demise. His mother wishes his body should be carried to the village from the city morgue carried by hand by people. The ancient belief says that the dead man is made to remember the road, he passed through to reach this village. These scenes that take place in the present time are shot in black and white, with the white and gray shaded snow, the roofs and the fences. Then when the movie goes for a flashback, the film transforms into vibrant colours.
Di is the village beauty, and her first meeting with the newly appointed teacher turns into love. He is a young man of 20 years and is from the city. Actually the village school is being built when he arrives and he also joins in the construction. As the most beautiful girl in the village, Di has to spin the traditional red banner, that has to be tied on the new building. She prepares delicious food for the construction workers, so that the master may also eat it. Every day, the master has to be fed by a family, and when it is the turn of Di, the lunch becomes a grand feast with delicasies like Onion cakes and mushroom curry. He enjoys the food, and when her blind grandma, inquires about his background, they come to know he is a bachelor, but the grandma is wise enough to advice Di, that both belong to seperate classes and asks her to put aside her dreams. Love marriage is something forbidden among them. The period is 1958's China after the cultural revolution. One day, the teacher is doubted as a rightist and taken back to the city for queries.
When the news comes of his departure, Di runs on the roads and paths with a bowl full of eateries specially prepared for him, but she tumbles on the way, her china bowl goes into pieces, the hairclip, he presented to her is missing, and she is very much disturbed with his parting. She arranges for the repair of the bowl, which is costlier than the original price. In the coming days, for long hours, she is waiting beside the road, for his arrival. She hears imaginary noises of the school, and runs there to see the empty building. She also spends long hours in the empty classes. Lou's parting destroys her health. Long hours of waiting in the snow storms pushes her into the sick bed. And finally Lou manages to return to live there for the remaining days of his life, and this scene is just suggested to us instead of showing directly.
We return to the present b/w days. The son makes arrangement with the mayor of the village for the funeral procession. They need atleast 35 labourers for this job in shifts. Provisions, wine, cigarettes and other things are needed for the journey, and he pays a good amount for this. The body is released from the mortuary and the procession starts. A convoy of cars follow the procession. Most of his old students are voluntarily walking and giving a hand to lift the funeral box. The crowd turns into hundreds. They chant' Lou, this is the road you came by.' The labourers refuse to get the fee they demanded and it is their way of service to the great man.
After the funerals, Di asks her son to handover the money his dad saved for renovating the village school. The villagers remember how Lou fought for the educational upliftment of the village, how he inspired many. Di wishes, for at least a day, her son should take class in the school, so that his dad's soul would be pleased, and he is reluctant. One day, after the renovation, Di hears the noise of the school, and as like the old days, she rushes to the school; the entire village stands in awe. Her son is taking the'one day' class with the text book his father himself wrote.
The film is a real treat to watch. Romantic films are sold at two per rupee in India. Do we have any films without romance these days? But in foreign films romance is just another theme, which may be picturised or not. In this film, it has been given a great part. In no scene do the lovers touch each other or engage in kissing or hugging. Purity flows in every shot. The heroine is a real beauty with excellent expressions. Zhang Ziyi, the heroine whom we have seen in'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' is so cute here, we feel enchanted like the hero Lou Zheng Hao. The film is superbly directed by Zhang Yimou. The periods of the Communist regime, with the rightists hunted etc. are crisply portrayed. The hero, visually we see, is an ordinary young man, and only in the narration, we understand that he is a genius and a great man.
What enchanted me is the picturisation of the landscapes with changing shades and tints with every season. The entire film is shot in and around the particular village, which consists of hillocks and winding sandpaths. When the film transforms into colour the first shot itself is spectacular. A horse riden coach comes speedily on the dusty road, with the sun backlighting the coach and the rising golden dust. With the changing seasons, the road is once brightly lit, and in winter, the crawling shapes of the snowstorm sail speedily over the paths. We become so acquainted with the paths, the mounds, wells, school and the house as if we are one of the villagers.
Don't miss this movie at any cost.
