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June 6, 2003
By Veronica Mixon
The story of Together is a universal tale of a parent
who places all of his hope on the child
and goes to extraordinary lengths to
provide the best opportunities for that
child. Director Chen Kaige, who is best
known for Farewell My Concubine,
gives us a glimpse of modern China and
all of its peculiar ambitions and ambivalence
behavior.
It is after the Cultural Revolution
and Liu Cheng saves all of his money
as a popular chef in a small provincial
town for the journey he'll make to Beijing
with his gifted musical son, Xiaochun
(Tang Yun). Xiaochun will compete in
a violin recital and gain a place with
a gifted tutor. Naturally, he'll grow
up to be rich and famous. This is what
his devoted father Cheng wants for him.
However, once they arrive in Beijing,
things go amiss. Xiaochun doesn't win
the competition or a tutor even though
it is clear that he's the most talented.
His father seeks out a tutor, Professor
Jiang (Wang Zhiwen) who eventually,
begins to teach him while Cheng finds
work in the large teeming city. Later,
Liu Cheng also seeks a more prominent
tutor, Professor Yu (played by Chen
Kaige) for his son and falls victim
to the arrogance and prejudice of the
well-to-do professor.
Meanwhile, his father never notices
that Xiaochun is growing up and developing
interests and opinions of his own. A
curious teenager, he develops an interest
in a flashy pretty girl-about-town,
Lili (Chen Hong). He also recognizes
the price of being an overachiever as
he examines the person life of Professor
Jiang. Xiaochun values love and friendship,
something his father has made little
time for himself personally. Yet, both
Xiaochun and Liu Cheng are devoted to
each other's happiness.
Together
is a heartwarming story of a thriving,
changing culture in China and the ambitions
of one man for his son. These ambitions
represent the contemporary push toward
a freer, more Western-style consumerism.
The music is enthralling and while the
young star, Tang Yun could play, his
brilliant performances were actually
the work of a former child prodigy Li
Chuanyun. The music is a unique character
in the film and signals the energetic
burst toward a freer society that the
Chinese people are now rushing toward.
We also get a true sense of modern day
Beijing with its chic shops, crowded
streets, intense competitiveness and
the small, seedier back alleys of this
great city.
Together
is one of the best films to open this
year!
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