Coming Home carries on the wonderful
tradition of melodrama in Chinese cinema, certainly reminiscent of director
Zhang Yimou’s early work (Raise the Red
Lantern, The Road Home), but even
more so of the quiet family dramas made by the legendary Yasujirô Ozu. There
are not many surprises within the narrative of Coming Home, but it is a film instead content to the dedication
examination of a simple premise. Even while there is a clear representation of
a difficult political time in Chinese history, Yimou wisely makes this a film
about the personal impact on individuals rather than the larger issues
surrounding them.
At the center of
the film is a connection in the relationship between Lu (Chen Daoming) and his
wife Feng (Gong Li), even if we are given no opportunity to see what this
couple looked like when they were together. As the film begins they have
already been separated for years, Lu in hiding and eventually sent to a labor
camp as a political prisoner. The one moment they are able to see each other is
the same that inevitably gets him caught, and it is a brief and frantic
encounter without so much as the satisfaction of touch. When Lu is finally
released after the Cultural Revolution, he returns home to Feng in a quickly diminishing
mental capacity.
The bittersweet
element of Feng’s inability to recognize Lu is her simultaneous obsession with
his return home. Even as her mind is unable to recognize the man she loves, it
is a love so deep that she will not let it go. Lu resigns to the fact that she
can’t recognize him after attempts to help her remember, instead forced to find
excuses to reinsert himself into her life again. This humble depiction of
selfless love is something rarely seen in American studio films these days, at
least outside of mediocre Nicholas Sparks adaptations. In other words, we can
do better, or we’ll have to rely on independent cinema to fill that gap.
Nearly as
important as the relationship between these characters is their daughter, Dan
Dan (Zhang Huiwen), whose attitude changes the most of the course of the film.
As a young girl she resents her father for the social stigma his reputation has
placed on her, and then must face the implications of these early decisions
when he returns years later. Again, some of the most crucial sequences in the
narrative are left out, which seems to highlight the emotional impact on the
characters more than the events themselves.
The Blu-ray
release includes a Q&A with Yimou from the Toronto Film Festival, as well
as a commentary track with the legendary Chinese director.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 9/10
Historical
Significance: 6.5/10
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