****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
In devouring the films of Zhang Yimou lately, I finally got around to The Road Home. I find it amazing that some of the most profound, gorgeous, and unforgettable films are ones I'd scarcely heard of before watching them.Please don't be fooled by the brevity of this review. I've chewed up full pages with reviews of movies I hardly remember let alone enjoyed. But to be fair to my middling skills, there is little I can say about this movie except that it is quite possibly the most beautiful movie I have ever seen.If you're reading reviews of this film, you might already be aware that Yimou makes breathtakingly beautiful and emotionally evocative films. Rarely have I watched one of his films without marveling at the tremendous colors as well as happily giving in and shedding a tear or twenty. Beyond that, however, it is what this movie accomplishes using stunning simplicity that truly makes it noteworthy. How many romantic tales can you recall without the slightest physical interaction? When was the last (or first!) time you saw a movie where love was expressed solely in exquisitely simple tasks such as making a meal, cleaning a chalkboard, weaving a banner, or waiting for your love to walk down the road just so you can steal a heartbreakingly brief look into each other's eyes? From the very moment that Di and Luo's eyes meet, I was hooked. By the time Luo walks out of the school to see Di, I was a hopelessly blubbering fool in a way that The Notebook to the 10th power could never hope to elicit.But I've said enough. True love is real, true love is forever, and true love is pure and simple. If you believe that, you will absolutely cherish this movie as the rarest of jewels that it most assuredly is.
