The story follows Grandpa (Liu Xue) who has grown old, lost his wife and has become lonely and nostalgic for the old days. His daughter, Pingping (Han Huimin) returns to her family's small village with her own children to celebrate Chinese New Year with her elderly father and hopes he will join her in the southern city of Hainan after the New Year. When his daughter visits, Grandpa expresses the powerlessness he feels in his old age and how he does not want to move to Hainan. After much deliberation, the father decides to go with his daughter, but he dies before that happens. The film is from China with dialogue in Chinese with English subtitles.
The film is very well produced, with wonderful camera work and audio recording. The lighting for interior shots is lacking at times, making it difficult to see these scenes. But, I have to say that the images in the movie are extremely beautiful, and it seems that the director, Fengkai Liu, as well as the production staff really understand the Northeast as they show the charm of the ice and snow so well. When Grandpa introduces Baolai (Xue Tianxiao) to the land, the snowy landscape surrounds the two characters and we see the entire breadth of the land. The set very much keeps with the times, which made me feel like I was back at my grandparents' house, even though they lived in southern China. The somewhat dated, but uniquely beautiful set in the Northeast makes the story more convincing. There is relatively little music used in the movie, except at the end, when the daughter is sitting alone in the car and the sun appears in the distance; the music then drives home the emotions of the story even more. Of the three main characters in the film, the character of Grandpa is the most colorful -- he is very much like an elderly Chinese man. He shows a sense of loneliness in his body movements and his tone of voice. The Chinese New Year is of great importance to the Chinese people and is the equivalent of Christmas for Westerners. My favorite part is the scene during Chinese New Year when Baolai walks out to watch the fireworks, followed Pingping, and finally Grandpa stands to watch in the doorway. It's a long shot, full of invisible love. I am reminded of how a woman cares for her child and express her love directly, but when a father cares for his grown daughter, it's hard for him to show his love for her. At the end, Grandpa dies; we don't really see what happens, only his casket being taken away, Pingping sorting through his things, and the image of her face in the window of the door as she departs and drives away. Her face is devoid of emotion, and we are left with our own emotions about losing a loved one.
The film's message is about love and family and how, as we age, life changes but out love for our family never goes away.
I give North 4.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. By Xiangxi K., and Julie S., KIDS FIRST!
The story follows Grandpa (Liu Xue) who has grown old, lost his wife and has become lonely and nostalgic for the old days. His daughter, Pingping (Han Huimin) returns to her family's small village with her own children to celebrate Chinese New Year with her elderly father and hopes he will join her in the southern city of Hainan after the New Year. When his daughter visits, Grandpa expresses the powerlessness he feels in his old age and how he does not want to move to Hainan. After much deliberation, the father decides to go with his daughter, but he dies before that happens. The film is from China with dialogue in Chinese with English subtitles.
The film is very well produced, with wonderful camera work and audio recording. The lighting for interior shots is lacking at times, making it difficult to see these scenes. But, I have to say that the images in the movie are extremely beautiful, and it seems that the director, Fengkai Liu, as well as the production staff really understand the Northeast as they show the charm of the ice and snow so well. When Grandpa introduces Baolai (Xue Tianxiao) to the land, the snowy landscape surrounds the two characters and we see the entire breadth of the land. The set very much keeps with the times, which made me feel like I was back at my grandparents' house, even though they lived in southern China. The somewhat dated, but uniquely beautiful set in the Northeast makes the story more convincing. There is relatively little music used in the movie, except at the end, when the daughter is sitting alone in the car and the sun appears in the distance; the music then drives home the emotions of the story even more. Of the three main characters in the film, the character of Grandpa is the most colorful -- he is very much like an elderly Chinese man. He shows a sense of loneliness in his body movements and his tone of voice. The Chinese New Year is of great importance to the Chinese people and is the equivalent of Christmas for Westerners. My favorite part is the scene during Chinese New Year when Baolai walks out to watch the fireworks, followed Pingping, and finally Grandpa stands to watch in the doorway. It's a long shot, full of invisible love. I am reminded of how a woman cares for her child and express her love directly, but when a father cares for his grown daughter, it's hard for him to show his love for her. At the end, Grandpa dies; we don't really see what happens, only his casket being taken away, Pingping sorting through his things, and the image of her face in the window of the door as she departs and drives away. Her face is devoid of emotion, and we are left with our own emotions about losing a loved one.
The film's message is about love and family and how, as we age, life changes but out love for our family never goes away.
I give North 4.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. By Xiangxi K., and Julie S., KIDS FIRST!
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