It's been 20 years since Zhang's TO LIVE was banned in China, the director and female lead prohibited from speaking about it and were forbidden from working for 2 years. And it's been 15 years since Zhang withdrew his films from Cannes in the aftermath of the continuing debate as to whether his films are pro or anti government.
I can't think of another director whose work is subject to as much scrutiny regarding their political leanings.
If you are looking for an overt criticism of the Cultural Revolution, then this film won't satisfy. What we have is a simple story, less obvious and more oblique, but still emotional and powerfully moving.
It's a tender story of a man trying to reconnect with his amnesiac wife and estranged daughter through a series of small but heart-felt gestures.
The thought that struck me during the final scene, watching an elderly couple - Feng Wanyu and Lu Yanshi, waiting for the husband to come home, was that not only might he never come back, but the 20 years that kept them apart would NEVER come back. And that's a pretty strong indictment of a troubling period in China's history.
I can't think of another director whose work is subject to as much scrutiny regarding their political leanings.
If you are looking for an overt criticism of the Cultural Revolution, then this film won't satisfy. What we have is a simple story, less obvious and more oblique, but still emotional and powerfully moving.
It's a tender story of a man trying to reconnect with his amnesiac wife and estranged daughter through a series of small but heart-felt gestures.
The thought that struck me during the final scene, watching an elderly couple - Feng Wanyu and Lu Yanshi, waiting for the husband to come home, was that not only might he never come back, but the 20 years that kept them apart would NEVER come back. And that's a pretty strong indictment of a troubling period in China's history.