"Together", directed by the Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige, is
a heart-warming, no, soul-melting story of a father and son relationship.
This family of two comes from a small village in China. The father, Liu
Cheng, is a distinguished cook of his province and his son, Xiao Chun, is
a thirteen year-old violin prodigy. Liu Cheng is a loving father who is
determined to make his son a famous violinist.
The movie starts off in a small rural city in China, where much
traveling within the city is done by boat. Liu Cheng learns that his son
may have a chance of entering a renowned music conservatory in Beijing. As
they prepare to leave for Beijing, the intricate relationship between the
father and son becomes apparent.
Upon arriving in Beijing, Liu Cheng leaves his son for a moment. Xiao
Chun's wandering eyes fall upon a couple making out and inadvertently
becomes infatuated with the lady.(Who is the directors wife!!!)
The next day, at the audition for the conservatory, Xiao Chun's
talents are exposed for all to see. Here we see how much of a prodigy he
really is. But after placing only 5th, Liu Cheng over hears to professors
talking about how his son should really have gotten 1st. The only reason
he didn't was because they didn't pay a bribe! Determined as ever, Liu
Cheng finally convinced Professor Jiang, an untidy musician who lives in a
house full of cats, to allow Xiao Chun to be his pupil.
Xiao Chun begins studying with Professor Jiang, learning some life
lessons along with his music as the professor allows bits of his past seep
into their lessons. At home, Xiao Chun is delighted to learn that the lady
with whom he had become infatuated lives nearby. She's become a sort-of
older sister to him over the course of the movie. She enjoys listening to
Xiao Chun play the violin and he gladly plays it for her. But Xiao
Chun's infatuation with her leads to a crisis that later threatens his
musical career.
Soon, Liu Cheng learns that Professor Jiang's influence will not be
enough to make his son famous. Things become very interesting when Liu
Cheng decides to send Xiao Chun to another professor, Professor Yu (played
by the director!!!), who has a better reputation than Jiang in turning his
pupils into international stars. Xiao Chun leaves Professor Jiang with a
bittersweet farewell and begins life with Professor Yu. From there,
Xiao Chun battles with his new found rival, a fellow student of Professor
Yu, learns of a tragic family secret, and struggles to learn why he plays
the violin.
This movie totally makes you want to learn how to play a violin! Or,
at least it makes you want to have such great passion and love for
something as Xiao Chun does. The emotions in this movie unfold slowly so
it doesn't seem too cheesy; they tug at your heart until you fall in love
with the movie. It ends with a total tearjerker that got me sniffling. The
only thing I can complain about is how relationships were portrayed. The
movie just touches a bit on each relationship between the characters,
it's hard to measure how deep the relationships actually are. Other then
that, "Together" was totally awesome! It has a great selection
of music and the perfect cast for the characters. Y'all have got to see
it!
Oh, I forgot to mention, it's in Chinese, but with English subtitles.
=)
Web site: http://togethermovie.com
|
