Kenji Chan If the motherland were a river, I would be a fish swimming happily. If the motherland were a road, I would be a car moving forward happily. If the motherland were a tree, I would be a leaf waving in the breeze happily.Life is unpredictable, consisting of ups and downs.Sometimes you may be in high spirits, but at other times you can feel very low. Sometimes you may meet very good people, but don't forget villains do exist. Sometimes you may bound forward and run quickly, but you can be found staggering along one night.After a dead leaf falls down, it is absorbed by the soil and a new plant will grow.The cycle of birth, growth and death repeats itself, like the river in the last scene. That's life...No matter how feeble and helpless we may feel sometimes, human beings will still struggle with the environment and fate for an opportunity to live. Ahead of us are lots of things to experience, exciting and depressing. Nevertheless, because of pain, we know what pleasure is. (That's just like the walking scenes in the movie. When the girls working in the field, cars, cow and bicycle pass by, we know how fast Old Zhao walks. By the way, the audience may pay attention to the symbolic meanings of different vehicles in the movie, e.g. bicycles, coaches, carts, private cars, trucks, buses, etc.) If we were doomed to the sufferings, what we are able to change would be the way in which we interpret them. Be positive and never give up! The movie ends suddenly and the unfinished business may puzzle some members of the audience. However, I personally find it very meaningful and symbolic. The ending successfully upgrades this can-be-typical road movie to an abstract motto. "Life is a road comprising UPS and DOWNS. Do live each day happily as it comes and enjoy life to the full!" The ending (i.e. the river) also symbolically implies that human beings should not always emphasize the importance of results. Instead, we should pay attention to the process.Those touching moments, black humor, superb acting and the meaningful ending make this road movie a unique and impressive one causing catharsis. Moved to tears and laughter, you may ponder on the meaning of LIFE when you leave the theatre. My favourite movie in 2007!!!

edchin2006 As with many "Road Movies" this is also a "Buddy Film". Only, the buddy is a very "silent partner". "Weekend at Bernie's" and "The Trouble with Harry" spring to mind, but our friend does not nearly play such an active role as Bernie or Harry - though he does provide the reason for being on the road.Travelling with our buddies through China on the way to the Three Gorges really has the feel of being on Route #66, China. I felt like I was looking over Charles Kuralt's shoulder whenever there was yet another vignette of rural China. Wheather true or not, I come away with the belief I know/understand these people of the earth. The touching and moving parts of the film are meant to tug at our heart-strings but do not feel contrived. That so many of the commenter's express how beautifully the film shows "their" China, I am convinced that such hardships are typical there.Yet, with all the sadness, this is a "feel good" movie. Life goes on, tomorrow is another day, and our journey's end is just down the road a bit.

woody_emcee I watched this film with my homiez in theatre ,Ji Nan,i found the audience can not help themselves 2 laugh out loudly several times,the main reason IMO is because of Zhao benshan,one of the best comedian in China.Every traditional Chinese new year show,if the show without the performance of Zhao Benshan,maybe kind of boring,so you will know what a great actor he is.This flick directed by Zhang yang who also directed The Shower(XiZao),tells a farmer(in China also called Ming Gong) who tries to bring home the body of his friend, who died far from their town,on the way to his dead friends home happened lots of unexpected things,some of them are funny,some of them are so moving,it proved the priceless of the promise.Zhao benshan played this role so naturally with the accent of northeast,it was hard for a man whose age nearly 50 to nonstop carrying body such a long distance,it make me thinking of a song called "the people from northeast were all alive Lei Feng",lolThis film set in Southwest of China,the scene was beautiful,cinematography and the colors were remarkable...I give this film 10/10,no doubt,if you are a big fan of Zhao benshan,go to watch it,don't miss,it worth your money!

Harry T. Yung It's all in the family. Director ZHANG Yang's father was a respected director in Beijing. Academically trained, Zhang won the special Critics' Award in Toronto (in the TIFF, the world's largest non-award international film festival) with "Xizao" (The Shower). Unlike another Zhang, this young director stays true to his soul continuing to make simple, heart-warming movies about the common people of China rather than trying to impersonate Hollywood big blockbuster directors. In a recent interview on "Lou ye gui gen", he intimated about the difficulty of marketing a small art-house movie in a country with no art-house cinemas. "Although my movies have more comedy elements and are more accessible, they are still art house movies. I care more about showing my characters' lives and personalities than the box office." "Getting home" (note the subtle use of "getting", not "coming" or "going") is first and foremost a road movie, an international favourite genre that has seen many top notch films: "The Straight Story", "Nashan naren nagou", "Central Station", "Kikujiro no natsu". Although "Getting home" may not be among the most brilliant ones, it does not suffer much by comparison. And I wouldn't call it a "black" comedy ("The cook, the thief, his wife and her love" IS a black comedy) – it's more like "grey".The first ten minutes sets the tone for the movie and is worth recounting in some detail, with a SPOILER warning (although I'm not even sure that something in the first 10 minutes in a 2-hour movies can technically be considered a spoiler). It starts with a close up of Zhao gulping down a glass of booze before heading to the bus with his buddy who is dead drunk, on a long trip home after a few years as migrated labourors. Next, we see a "relieving stop" when, according to the well established custom, men go to the bushes on the left and women on the right to relieve themselves. His buddy stays on the bus and is later accused by the returning women for being a peeping Tom, a storm in a tea cup that Zhao quells by apologizing profusely on behalf of his buddy. Then come the highway robbers, declaring in a most professional manner their intention, before coming down the aisle, equipped with metal detectors, to collect contributions. When it comes to Zhao's turn, he insists firmly that they can take his money but not his buddy's. When asked to explain why, he says that the robbers should give his buddy due respect. "He's dead", says he.The rest of the movie, taking it from there, is about this man honouring his promise to his buddy (probably spoken after a few drinks too many) "If you die here, I wouldn't let them cremate you, but will personally carry your body to your home town to be buried, in accordance with traditional custom".Throughout this journey, the audience will encounter a rich pageant of various people (not to mention numerous ingenious ways of carrying a dead body) most of whom are kind-hearted. There are moments of hilarious fun as well as heart-breaking poignancy, with as many a variety of beautiful music to match, from playful to languid. Just as varies and beautiful is the cinematography of the landscape en route.ZHAO Benshan is a natural, making Zhao one of the best-loved characters in any movie that you have ever seen. For those who must have big names, there is a segment with HU Jun.