Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
| Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles | |
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Promotional poster for Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
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| Directed by |
Zhang Yimou Yasuo Furuhata (Japan section) |
| Produced by |
Xiu Jian Zhang Weiping Bill Kong |
| Written by | Zou Jingzhi |
| Starring | Ken Takakura |
| Music by | Guo Wenjing |
| Cinematography |
Zhao Xiaoding Daisaku Kimura (Japan section) |
| Edited by | Cheng Long Akimasa Kawashima (Japan section) |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics (United States) |
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Release date
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Running time
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109 minutes |
| Country | China |
| Language |
Chinese Japanese |
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (simplified Chinese: 千里走单骑; traditional Chinese: 千里走單騎, Japanese: 単騎, 千里を走る) is a 2005 drama film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Ken Takakura. It premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival on 22 October 2005 and was released in China on 22 December 2005.
Written by Zou Jingzhi, the film tells the story of Gouichi Takata (Takakura), an aged Japanese father who, ever since his wife died, has not been in good terms with his son. When he learns that his son has been diagnosed as having liver cancer, he decides to travel to Yunnan province in China in his son's place to film Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, a traditional item in the local nuo opera (), of which his son is a leading scholar. The father hopes that by doing so, he might finally gain the forgiveness of his son.
The title of the film is an allusion to the fabled story of Guan Yu's perilous solo journey to reunite with his sworn brother and lord Liu Bei, as told in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It is a story about brotherly love and loyalty much told in Chinese folklore and operas. The film draws the parallel between the folk tale and Takata's quest to fulfill his son's wish.
Takata Gouichi (played by Ken Takakura), an elderly Japanese man, has been on poor terms with his son Kenichi (Kiichi Nakai) since the death of his wife. When his son falls ill, Gouichi travels from the province of Akita to the hospital, located in Tokyo, but his son refuses to see him. Kenichi's wife Rie (Shinobu Terajima) gives Gouichi a video-tape so that Gouichi may learn more about his son, which contains footage of Li Jiamin, an artist of Nuo opera from the Province of Yunnan of the People's Republic of China, promising to perform Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles in a year. Gouichi decides to travel to the PRC in his son's place to film Li's performance.
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