inigovik Too much emotions and pain in a single person, a story that gives a lesson of life. Takata is extremely herd by his wife's death that he plunges into loneliness and no-contact with his son Kenichi who is dying of cancer at a hospital, refusing to see his father. A journey that helps Takata rediscover the value of family through the grace of Yang Yang, a kid whose father is imprisoned for an ironic act of defense. The movie is all about self analysis and forgiveness; Takata stops been emotionless after he was told about Kenichi's death, but specially after having experienced the cultural values of a foreign country. The narrative is the only fact I felt a bit ambiguous; however, the real language that must be spoken in this film is the language of feelings and expressions.

rljslaughter "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" is a touching story about a man's quest for redemption and to repair the relationship with his son. This is also a story about a foreigner in a strange country and the isolation one can feel by not speaking the language, even when you are surrounded by people. Even though the father and son are never able to see each other before the son dies, the gesture the father makes by going on his journey leads to a much deeper connection between the father and son than they would have achieved through small talk in a hospital room. Redemption is achieved not only through his son's letter, but also, showing the pictures of Yang Yang to his imprisoned father, indirectly reconnecting them together.

ckcaswell1 Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. It makes you laugh with cute jokes and jabs, and it makes you cry with heart breaking realities. Ken Takakura says little in the movie, but you can tell every thought that goes through his mind as he goes along his journey of atonement for his son. The simple task that he goes to perform turns into a long drawn out journey that eventually leads to him finding peace with his past wrongdoings and learning more about his son's life, which had formally been a distant, almost nonexistent relationship. We see the determination and patience that this man goes through to achieve his goal, even when it is apparent that his task is near impossible and inconvenient to achieve. Yimou Zhang fills the screen with the beautiful landscapes of China and uses everything in the scene to his advantage. The casting of the villagers and the little boy was done perfectly as well. I found myself falling in love with the little boy, even through his stubbornness and young determination. This movie is a great experience to enjoy for everyone and will make you redefine your close relationships and will make you want to equate your life accordingly.

kat1102 With "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles," Zhang Yimou proves how much you can take out of a simple story. I found myself emotionally involved and suffered with Takata (the main character) on his long and sometimes lonely journey.This intimate character drama is about a Japanese dad (Takata) who travels to China to reconnect with his dying son. When Takata realizes that his son has not forgiven him for mistakes he made in the past, he decides to finish a documentary that his son worked on but wasn't able to finish.On his journey to China, we experience along with Takata, how cultures and people can clash but also learn from each other. And, sometimes our dreams and goals can change without a warning.This is not a martial arts film but its shots and cinematography are just as beautiful as we are used to from his past films such as "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers.