Zhi you yun zhi dao

This film is trying really hard to grab some cheap tears and they did for many that watched it, almost got me too. But the story and the acting is mediocre at best.

Everything about this film is absolutely beautiful. The cinematography is breathtaking and the actors are amazing. Although it's a bit slow, i enjoyed every single scenes without getting bored.

The movie perhaps fulfills the definition of Harlequin Romance, "a simple story about romantic relationships between men and women" but (unlike other films with similar theme like Love Story and A Man and a Woman) it manages to tell the tale without indulging in cliches or falling into the maudlin or the sappy.

The movie starts with grieving widower Dongfeng Sui visiting the places in New Zealand that were the scenario of his happy relationship with his wife Yun Luo. While in New Zealand they adopted English names (Simon and Jennifer) but their Chinese names are related with "cloud" for her, "wind" for him. We learn about the couple through flashbacks; their meeting, their marriage and their life together. And he (and we) learn what was that only Cloud knew.

Some scenes are too slow and too long, some predictable (like the last in a fishing boat) but others are profoundly moving like the one where Dongfeng declares his love for Yun in everyday but poetic terms. The tale veers here and there into fairy tale territory but this adds to its charm. Cinematography captures the breathtaking landscapes of New Zealand without interfering with the tale. Direction is fluid and acting excellent all around. A movie worth watching.