A father, with his entire fortune... in his hat...
A boy, with his destiny... in his hands...
They came to the city,
To find a teacher.
What they discovered,
Was a whole new world.
Theatrical Release Date : 30 May 2003
Approximate Feature Run Time : 1 hour 59 minutes
Stars : Tang Yun (real-life violin prodigy)
Liu Peiqi
Chen Hong
Wang Zhiwen
Chen Kaige
Plot Summary:When violin prodigy Xiaochun and his father head to Beijing seeking fame and fortune, they soon discover a fierce world of cutthroat ambition. But when Xiaochun is "adopted" by a famous music tutor. success finally seems within reach - until a shocking discovery begins to unravel his entire world, and the boy must make the most difficult choice of his life. Can he achieve the fame his father had always hoped for without losing the extraordinary passion that sets him apart?
Chen Kaige, director of the Oscar-nominated "Farewell My Concubine", composes a richly imagined symphony about love, ambition, and destiny in China's high-pressure world of classical music. Surging with "warmth, humanity and a sense of humor"
(The Hollywood Reporter), this lyrical, enchanting heartwarmer is a "sure-fire crowd-pleaser"
(Los Angeles Times).
Comments :A story about family, music, and the price of success.
A tad boring at the beginning, but made up for by the antics of father and son, together in their provincial hometown and when they move around separately in the city. Quite amusing.
The story really starts when Cheng manages to find a violin professor of a completely different nature from Xiaochun's first teacher in the city, an eccentric genius who lives in a filthy house.
An unexpected revelation later in the movie that tells the motivation behind his father's intentions is heart-rending, especially when one realizes that the sacrifices he made for Xiaochun went far beyond what was required of him.
And... well, music is a
sacred language of the heart, not the pen, or your hands, or your voice.
I've watched this twice already... and on both occasions this movie has yet to fail to bring tears to my eyes.
Watch the
trailer on the MGM Movie Database website.