Director Zhang Yimou Recalls His Own Experience of Forced Labor During the Cultural Revolution

'Coming Home' depicts a couple's struggle amidst China's Cultural Revolution, which concluded in 1977. It tells the story of a wife who, in her longing for her husband's return, develops amnesia, and the family's subsequent journey. Zhang Yimou, renowned globally for blockbusters like 'Hero' and 'House of Flying Daggers,' and for directing the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, also experienced forced labor in factories and farms during the Cultural Revolution.

For this deeply personal film, director Zhang cast actress Gong Li in the lead role. Their legendary collaboration, which produced masterpieces like 'Red Sorghum' and 'The Story of Qiu Ju,' both award-winning films that shaped Chinese cinema history, is rekindled, resulting in a new cinematic triumph.

Chen Daoming, whom director Zhang praises as "China's finest actor," plays the husband, an intellectual crushed by the irrational revolution. He delivers a performance that draws tears from the audience, portraying a man who continues to love his wife with unwavering devotion, even after she has lost her memory of him.

A Wife Who Loses Her Memory of Her Husband from Waiting Too Long

The Cultural Revolution has ended. Her husband, released after 20 years, is reunited with his wife. However, the wife, worn down by the long wait, has lost her memory of her husband. Yet, she continues to wait for him, believing his letters that say he will return on the 5th, and stands at the station every month to greet him.

The doctor diagnoses her with psychogenic amnesia and suggests that recalling old memories might help restore her recollection. The husband, with the help of their daughter, who had previously reported him, endeavors in various ways to help his wife remember him.

One day, the wife discovers hundreds of letters her husband wrote while in the labor camp. She is deeply moved but doesn't realize the letters are from her husband himself. She continues to wait for his return, sitting beside him. Will her memory ever return?

Esteemed director Steven Spielberg called it, "I couldn't stop crying for an hour. It's powerful and profound." This moving film has been met with thunderous applause at 13 film festivals, including Cannes and Toronto. It is a profound human drama that only Zhang Yimou, who lived through the Cultural Revolution, could bring to life.



'Coming Home'
Opening March 6th (Fri) at TOHO Cinemas Chanter and other theaters nationwide.
Director | Zhang Yimou
Starring | Chen Daoming, Gong Li, Zhang Huwen
Distributor | Gaga
2014 | China | 110 min
http://cominghome.gaga.ne.jp/


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