Why is the relationship between a father and a son important? Why do the Japanese and Chines find it hard to accommodate each another and even learn each other’s language though they seem to have come from a common heritage? These two questions have challenged scholars and people who study the Chinese and Japanese culture. The issue of father-son relationship has been researched and the findings have always been inconclusive to indicate how the relationship between a father and a son may be the offset of inseparable feelings that become difficult to bridge when a father and the son are old (Howard, 1). The relationship between a father and the son and whether a broken relation makes it difficult for a father and a son to connect can be clearly depicted in the movie Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles” by the Chinese director Yimou Zhang.
The director of the movie shows the audience the importance of paternal and family relationships and goes ahead to depict the outcome of relationships that are broken. Additionally, the question of how the Chinese and Japanese culture have rifts that can be bridged is indicated in the movie Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles” by the Chinese director Yimou Zhang (Howard 4). The following paper will examine and interpret the plot of the movie Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles” by the Chinese director Yimou Zhang in terms of how it shows a breakdown in relation between a father and a son and the way Chinese and Japanese cultures have a rift that is inherent in their day to day interactions.
The movie has gotten much praise for its account of issues relating to a fathers love and the clash of different cultures in a beautifully and a classic manner. The lavish scenery gives the movie a touch of class that is clearly representing the way peoples environment can be an influence in how they relate to each other especially family members. The movie shows how detrimental estrangement of a father and a son can be (Zhang n.p). It shows that a father’s quest to bridge a relationship gone bad due to separation will always be a hard task. Moreover, the movie is a classic example of how communication between family members can be a reflection of how someone communicates with other people. It is clear that the bad communication that Takata had with his son reflects the difficult way in which the protagonist communicates with other people outside the family.
The movie clearly shows that fathers should always strive to nurture and cherish their love for children. This becomes a very important component of the outcome of father son relationship. In this case there was a problem between the relation between a son and a father. The movie aims at putting across the message that men are always too busy with life issues and end up not giving the love and care that their children need hence brining about a problem in the relationship between sons and fathers (Zhang n.p). According to the movie, when fathers are too busy with their careers at the expense of giving the necessary attention and love to their sons, a problem will always come up. Therefore it is clear those parents are seen as responsible for any breakdown in communication and relation with their sons. The movie indicates that a breakdown in relations between fathers and sons makes the sons to always do things so that they get back at their father through struggling to prove themselves to their fathers. Which in the end does not always seem to be productive or make the son to be closer
The plot of the movies from the beginning to end indicates that rifts between fathers and their sons should be discouraged since they always led to outcomes which are very difficult to mend. The movie shows the viewer that any rift between a father and a son starts slowly with things that a father can take for granted but in the end whatever comes up is something that is irreparable especially if the rift happens for a long time (Zhang n.p). The intimacy between fathers and sons is an important part of making sons to grow up as responsible people and engage in activities that make their lives better. In the Riding alone for thousands of miles, the issue of rifts in a father and son relationship is portrayed in a very clear manner.
The beauty of how the director Yimou Zhang, portrays the old man trying the best he can to make up for the poor relationship with his son was done in a very professional way. Yimou Zhang, presents the movie using a thematic style to present the struggle of a person who seeks to find an authentic engagement with a complex social environment (Howard 3). The fact that the father who is a protagonist trying to reach his son and yet the father cannot speak Chinese’s indicates another theme relating to cultural rifts in the movie.
The fact that the father is Japanese and the son is a scholar in Chinese folk art shows that the rifts in the two cultures, which is Japanese and Chinese can be bridged using the academic platform. It is evident that the Japanese and the Chinese have always had a historical rift in appreciating each other’s culture (Zhang n.p). But the fact that the movie shows Japanese scholar teaching Chinese implies that the cultural rift between the Chinese and Japanese can be bridged using the academia world. The plot of the movie can be seen to clearly shows the contrast between the Japanese culture and the Chinese culture and how it is important for both groups to appreciate each other’s culture if they have to come to a middle ground in understanding each other.
In conclusion the movie Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles” by the Chinese director Yimou Zhang is a masterpiece that seems at giving fathers a lesson that when they separate themselves from their sons, a reunion may be difficult to bridge the gap that a break up brought about. The movie was created to show the importance of fathers making sure that the connection with their sons is one of the main ingredients for productive relations whether they are close or they are far away from their sons Additionally, the movie shows the differences in Chinese culture which may clearly be bridged by Chinese learning Japanese and Japanese learning Chinese.
Works Cited
Howard Feinstein, “Life After Gong Li”, The Guardian, 16 June 2000, web. 9 October 2014. Available <http://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/jun/16/culture.features1/print>.
Zhang Yimou. Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 09/01 DVD/VHS Feature Film, 2005.
