Zou Jinzhi Movies
- 2005
- PG
- Add Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles to Queue Add Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles to top of Queue
On the heels of such extravagant historical swordplay epics as Hero and House of Flying Daggers, Mainland Chinese director Zhang Yimou returns to the reins to tell this intimate tale of an aging father who attempts to remedy a longstanding rift with his grown son. Summoned to Tokyo by his daughter-in-law, Rie (Shinobu Terajima), village fisherman Gou-ichi Takata (Ken Takakura), arrives at a city hospital to find his son, Ken-ichi (Kiichi Nakai), bedridden by liver cancer. Though Gou-ichi attempts to use the visit as a catalyst to heal a decade-long dispute between the pair, stubborn Ken-ichi rejects his father's attempt at reconciliation outright. Subsequently handed a videotape by Rie before departing back to the countryside, Gou-ichi returns home unsuccessful in his efforts to build a bridge of peace between himself and his ailing son. Upon watching the videotape, a research project exploring the Chinese folk arts that was shot by Ken-ichi in the Southern province of Yunnan, Gou-ichi is oddly affected by the onscreen failure of his son in convincing well-known opera singer Li Jiamin (playing himself) to perform the titular song, a classic operatic piece espousing the values of friendship. Now determined to travel to Yunnan and videotape the performance that his son could not, Gou-ichi embarks on a life-changing quest that will not only give him a greater understanding of the relationship between himself and his own son, but set into motion a healing process that will also have a profound impact on the troubled opera singer and the man's long-lost illegitimate son as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ken Takakura, Kiichi Nakai, (more)
- 2011
A pair of orphaned Peking Opera stars fight for the honor of their master while becoming caught up in a dangerous conflict with the protégé of his most fearsome rival in this lavish martial arts action drama featuring fight choreography by the legendary Sammo Hung. The Qing Dynasty toppling as the 19th Century draws to a close, desperate Prince Regent calls for the Meng clan to be totally exterminated. As a Beijing crowd gathers to watch the beheading of the Meng leader, his five year old disciple Erkui bravely defies the executioner by singing an aria that moves respected opera legend Master Yu Shengying to rescue the boy from certain death. In the years that follow, Erkui and Master Yu's slightly older orphaned pupil, Guan Yilong, form a powerful bond of brotherhood. Though their fate seems to come full circle when Master Yu subsequently defeats the malevolent Prince Regent in a battle for the coveted "Wu Sheng Tai Dou" ("The Mightiest Warrior") plaque, Yu's skillful nemesis Master Yue Jiangtian soon later defeats Master Yu and stakes his claim on the prize. As a result, master Yu is forbidden to perform on stage from that day forward, and devotes his life to transforming his two young disciples into masters of both the martial arts and Peking Opera. Years later, Yilong and Erkui venture to Shanghai, and reclaim the plaque in a thrilling duel against and ageing Master Yue. Quickly becoming the darlings of the Shanghai opera scene after taking over Master Yue's troupe, the skillful duo finds their revenge may have come at a tragic price upon clashing with Xi Mulan, a striking actress whose loyalty to her mentor and lover Master Yue knows no bounds. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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