Together

I have just seen this movie at a press screening here in Amsterdam and must say this was one hell of a movie! Hell in the positive way! Every time Xiaochung( my Chinese is rusty) ended his concert, I wanted to stand up and applaud!

Story: 13-years old young boy travels with his father to the big city.The father has one goal: to make his son this best violin player. He tries to get him the best professor, but that is not enough. In the real world you need more. The professor realizes this but in China honor is very important. The boy thinks he has failed, but later on he understands. Particular the role of the father was wonderful. He wants the best for his son but hasn't the means to make it work. Xiaochung also discovers another part of growing.

I very much liked this movie, maybe because I am fan of Chinese movies, maybe because I have been there. There is drama, humor, very good music and a piece of the Chinese culture in this fantastic movie. By the way, the movie is from the director of Farewell to My Concubine, need I say more?

The kid and his father do a great job making this work. The plot twist is very powerful. The musicianship is incredible. If you don't cry at the end, you're made of stone... I don't care how cynical you are.

Movie does make use of several clichés about music teachers, but the funny thing is, a lot of music teachers are that cliché! And the classical music world is very political, as portrayed. And great musicianship IS a function of more than just fast fingers, as portrayed. The toughest part of this is how a country bumpkin learned to be that good in the first place. Who was his teacher?

Anyway, I highly recommend it.

I really liked this movie. I studied the violin for 8 years so I felt a strong connection to the film. The story is a touching tale about a child violin genius who goes to Beijing with his father and finds the best teacher he can. Truly the story is really about the love of a man for his son. The father shows the deepest emotion and devotion for his son throughout the movie. Unless your heart is made of stone and smaller than the Grinchs before it grew two sizes, you can't help but feel something for how much the son loves his father.

The music in the film is a nice selection of up-beat, touching, sentimental and refreshing. The emotion and message of feeling the music is executed with musical brilliance. The pieces are played exquisitely and even if your not into classical or violin you should still be entertained.

I realize this film may not be for some people or if your not in a particular mood. But if it sounds interesting you won't be disappointed in its poignant delight.

He ni zai yi qi (or Together) is the stirring story of a young violin protege, Xiaochun, competing in the cutthroat world of Chinese classical music. Xiaochun's father dreams only of his son's success and goes to great lengths to accomplish this goal. Each character is developed and interesting and viewers will find themselves sympathisizing not only with Xiaochun, but with each person he comes in contact with. Director Chen Kaige weaves unique images together with a heartbreaking soundtrack to give this movie a definite feeling of realism. The acting by Tang Yun (Xiaochun) and Liu Peiqi (Liu Chen)is heartfelt and endearing. This is another example of quality Chinese-made cinema worth missing a few Hollywood run-of-the-mill flicks for. This is a definite don't miss.

This is a wonderful film. On the surface it's about a musically gifted 13 year old boy from the country going with his father to seek fame and fortune. Underneath, it's about hundreds of things. Just like Tous les Matins du Monde it's about music but also about how people lose the love of music through the events that befall them. What I notice about "Together" (He ni zai yi qi) is the theme of ownership -- how it eludes those who seek it in music. The acclaimed music teacher, Professor Yu, reminisces in class on how much he loved music, how his love of Vivaldi flourished during the Cultural Revolution despite the threat he was under. But now at the height of his fame he does not enjoy music any more; he only enjoys power. The boy's other music teacher has lost his love of music by becoming dispirited and his life has become decrepit. But the film has many other themes. It could be about the inarticulacy of adolescence, especially one burdened with impossibly difficult feelings. It could also be an allegory about China. I watched it as "Together" with English subtitles, but one sensed that in Chinese it had other layers of meaning -- the notion of the scholar as venerated in Chinese society, for instance. There are some things not quite realized and the ending is soft-centered, but the acting by the son and especially his father is gripping. It's a film that would repay repeated viewings.