Movie Digest
Farewell, My Hometown portrays the life of three generations of Chinese women, overlapped in poetic images. To learn in-depth watch the whole movie. The movie premiered at the International Film Festival in Busan. The movie has been nominated for Fei Mu Awards and People’s Choice Awards for Best Film.
The Feel-Good Part
The film showcases a rich screenplay ranging from scenes of the countryside to buildings and humans interacting with each other in various settings. It looks like a piece of art. The background score and the sounds of everyday life are soothing to the ears.
The Disappointing Factor
The only disappointing factor would be the pace of the movie as some would not find it engaging enough.
In-Depth Analysis
The film starts by showing the viewers mountains and rich scenery. The camera appears to be in a vehicle but we are not shown either the driver or the passenger, only the scenic countryside.
When the viewer is engrossed in admiring the scenic beauty a woman starts narrating the tale about how she visited the doctor to heal her sick son. She goes into details and we are made aware of her pain. The narrator remains unnamed. She continues to tell the story of her life, the difficulties she faced and how she lost her sick son.
The scene changes and an old lady is shown. One can only assume that she was the person narrating the story. The viewers are shown images of the countryside and aesthetic cultural scenarios but the story narrated by the older woman is not fully portrayed in the film although we do see scenes of their story from afar.
The second story is about a young Chinese woman in her twenties. One can even see glimpses of her even in the trailer. She narrates her experience of moving from Beijing for ballerina training.
In the last part of the film, a middle-aged woman narrates her story of becoming a teacher. She talks about her life and how she gave up her ambitions. The random scenes that have been displayed while the women narrate their lives can also hint that the director is trying to provoke the viewer to think beyond what is being said.
Star Power
The movie stars Yu He He, Wang Xi Yao, and Feng Jie Zeng.The film is produced by Jing Zhang and directed by Erzhuo Wang. Erzhuo Wang is also known for directing movies such as Mother Eden and South of the Clouds.
Overall Opinion
Overall, in my opinion, the movie feels refreshing, instead of action or any sort of intense scene the movie goes on with ease moving from the narration of the story of the old woman to the young woman and ending with the middle-aged woman. It is a beautiful and artistic display of the lives of three generations of Chinese women. It gives us a glimpse into their hardships and how much life has changed over a period. The movie is a must-watch for everyone and those who are limited to a particular genre could surely give this a try.
