Easily holding its own alongside other, more analytical films dealing with that period of Chinese history which preceded the Cultural Revolution, "The Road Home" is a refreshing change in tone being always lyrical, romantic, and suggestive. Yet it is still a deeply eloquent film about an especially difficult period in China's recent past.

Concerning itself with the relationship between the old and the new, and of city and country, "The Road Home" specifically involves a young man living in the city who returns to his beautiful, peaceful but poor birthplace to attend the funeral of his father, the much revered local teacher. The inconsolable mother insists that he receive an old-style funeral, rarely seen since the Revolution, for which dozens of men will be required to accompany the coffin on the way to the place of burial. As the son organises the event, he recounts the burgeoning relationship of his young parents for whose romance the dusty, winding country road proved crucial. Hence its importance to the funeral.

Zhang Yimou, who also directed "Red Sorghum" and "Ju Dou", makes it clear in every frame that he really feels for this story, and he often employs a lingering camera and silence to make his points about love, family, culture, and change. Unique, unshowy moments include the young wife waiting patiently by the road for the first sight of her husband and, at the end, mother and son sobbing quietly. It is the peace of the film, in fact, which contrasts creatively with the director's passion.