Movie Review

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2006)

Reviewed by Scott Brown | Aug 30, 2006

Scott Brown

Scott Brown writes the Hit List for EW and is a frequent contributor to National Public Radio -- he has the tote bag to prove it

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EW's GRADE

B+

Details Limited Release: Sep 01, 2006; Rated: PG; Length: 108 Minutes; Genre: Drama; With: Ken Takakura

$EMOTIONAL ARIA Takakura\'s performance as a father trying to fulfill a son\'s dying wish resonates for Miles$

Image credit: Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles: Bai Xiaoyan

EMOTIONAL ARIA Takakura's performance as a father trying to fulfill a son's dying wish resonates for Miles

Before he made splashy myth-history epics about fabric (Hero, House of Flying Daggers), Zhang Yimou made intimate yet emotionally vast films about people (The Road Home, Not One Less). Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, which slips only occasionally into the narrative ellipses of epic, is Zhang's path back to emotional realism. As Mr. Takata — a Japanese fisherman scouring China to videotape a folk opera for his dying son — Ken Takakura, a great rain-creased oak of an actor, delivers a quietly massive performance.

Originally posted Aug 30, 2006 Published in issue #895-896 Sep 08, 2006 Order article reprints

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Movie Review Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles

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