This film is based on a true story and the Chinese title is from the saying, “A falling leaf returns to its roots.” Zhao is a farmer and he vows to bring home the body of his friend. This man died a long way away from their town in Sichuan province. Liu Quanyou was a long-time co-worker and drinking buddy. Human life is a journey and we all have promises to keep. The farmer meets people with different natures and experiences along the way but they don’t change him personally. Nothing is going the way Zhao planned but he is very determined to keep going on his journey.
At times this film is funny, other times quite unusual and with sad moments. Zhao manages to find joy in his small victories. Benshan Zhao portrayed a similar unlucky fellow in Zhang Yimou’s Happy Times 2000. Yang Zhang is considered to be one of the Sixth Generation of major filmmakers. He is the son of a film director, he graduated from the Central Academy of Drama and he uses a realistic style. His focus is on ordinary people and their lives. He also directed Shower 1999. I wanted to give up on this film several times and finally I did!! 3* (This movie is OK)
110 min, Comedy directed by Yang Zhang and written by Yao Wang and Yang Zhang with Benshan Zhae, Qiwen Hong, Dandan Song, Degang Guo, Jun Hu, Haiying Sun, Fan Liao, You Xia, Ww Ma, Jinshan Liu, Qi Zhang, Tao Guo, King Chen, Yuanyuan Liu, Yi She Na.
Note: Imdb 7.4 out of 10 with 1514 views, Empire Online 5* Liz Beardsworth, Rotten Tomatoes 91% audience score with 615 ratings, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 8 ratings, Letterboxd 3.6* out of 5*, Fandor 4.1* out of 5*.
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