The director fails to overcome a script that ignores the backstory of the characters, and that agonizingly details minor subplots.
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03/01/07
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Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles (2006)
79 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 71
Fresh: 56
Rotten:15
Average Rating: 7.1/10
Consensus: Doesn't reach the heights of Zhang Yimou's best, but this is still a heartwarming tale of love and forgiveness from the acclaimed Chinese director.
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Theatrical Release: Sep 1, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: Ken Takakura (THE YAKUZA) gives a career-redefining performance as an old fisherman in RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES. Estranged from his son for many years, Gou-ichi (Takakura) receives an unexpected call from his... [More]
Starring: Ken Takakura, Kiichi Nakai, Jiang Wen, Shinobu Terajima
Director: Yimou Zhang
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Reviews for Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles
The story may be sentimental, but Yimou layers it by adding cultural clash to the generational ones.
02/24/07
From real-life opera singer Jianin to travel agent Lin Qiu and youngster Zhenbo Yang, the cast is the genuine article...
02/16/07
...gorgeously photographed and, like Babel, a subtly organized commentary on the ways people strive to communicate.
12/06/06
Zhang is one of the world's great filmmakers, both in technique and in his rich humanity. Riding Alone will move you.
11/24/06
Yeah, yeah. Cue the violin music. But also grab a tissue, because the film levels far more of an impact than you might expect.
11/23/06
Sometimes, when the right movie people come together, a blatantly commercial decision actually strengthens the artistic impulse, as you can see from Zhang's filial treatment of Takakura in Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles.
11/11/06
The scenery is spectacular, and the movie does boast fine performances by both the stone-faced Takakura and scene-stealing newcomer Yang Zhenbo.
11/10/06
Ken Takakura's memorable performance, occasional light comedy and striking Chinese scenery don't keep Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles and its big message from being ponderous and affected.
11/10/06
The movie's message is a little too Hallmark Hall of Fame, but Zhang's observant eye neatly captures the idiosyncrasies of Chinese life and the heartbreak in Gouichi's journey.
11/10/06
It's the kind of story that shows more than it tells, a story that's forged in the spaces that exist in between characters and spaces.
10/30/06
The themes are universal (if a touch corny), the rugged Chinese scenery is stupendous, and the performances are touching.
10/30/06
Top Critic A meticulously crafted film in which nothing is ever forced or overstated. There's a grace and subtlety that pervades the film and quietly impresses.
10/28/06
Fathers and sons can't understand each other in Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, a simple theme in a movie that is simply breathtaking.
10/26/06
What remains most vividly after Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles, however, is not its story but its world--the immersion in that world of a foreigner, not a polo-shirted Yank but a stiff-necked Japanese. And it is all overseen by a Chinese director.
10/26/06
Top Critic It sounds like a slight plot, and it is, but it is rich in detail that makes up for the simplicity of the story.
10/19/06
Top Critic It's a masterful little film, and, thanks to Zhang's seasoned hands, it's subtly heartfelt but never manipulative.
10/19/06
Top Critic A father takes a spiritual journey from Japan to China to help mend a decades-long rift between himself and his dying son. The lessons learned en route are as profound as they are simple.
10/13/06
Top Critic Relatively speaking, minor Yimou, yet it retains that extraordinary cinematic sensibility and superbly observed humanity that characterizes all his work.
10/12/06
Top CriticLatest News for Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles
August 31, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Crank" Is Well-Ranked; "Illusionist" Is Magic, "Crossover" Is An Air-Ball, "Wicker Man" Gets Burned
This week at the movies, we've got hoopsters with big dreams ("Crossover," starring Anthony Mackie), scary goings-on on remote islands ("The Wicker Man,"... More...
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(2006)-Zhang Yimou's RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES opens today in NYC & LA!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 9/14/06
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(2006)-Zhang Yimou's RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES opens today in NYC & LA!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 9/14/06
by: REEL_REVIEWER 9/14/06
(2006)-Zhang Yimou's RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES opens today in NYC & LA!!!
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