Did you ever have one of those days where nothing could ruin your good mood? Even a bout of 拉肚子 after some Korean food? Yeah, I’m having one of those days. Allergies have had me hacking up a lung for the past two weeks. My stomach is… well, less than comfortable. I had a nightmare that I had a real job again last night, which made the nagging voice in my head that says, “How much longer can you afford to not have a job?” turn from an occasional whisper to a persistent shriek. My homework is piling up and the company I’m trying to start seems like it’s never gonna get off the ground. But you know what? It’s a beautiful f-ing day! The sun is shining. Well, it was shining, and when it was, it was freaking gorgeous. And, gosh darn it, I’m just a happy little camper. It’s like the time I watched You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown after being stood up by my good-for-nothing boyfriend! I should have been sad, but I couldn’t stop thinking up new verses to the song “Happiness”. And let me tell you what brought out the dormant, Mary-Poppins-Spoonful-of-Sugar side of my personality: “A falling leaf returns to the roots of the tree.”
Sound like a Chinese proverb? Well, you’re darn tooting it is, as well as the direct translation of the title of a movie my professor showed my Chinese idiom class. Internationally titled Getting Home, it is the story of a migrant worker who promised his best friend that, if he died on the job thousands of miles from his hometown, he would be returned to his family. I would try to give you more of a plot summary, but I think it’s better if I just tell you the truth. This film’s representation of some of the problems that plague Chinese society is refreshingly honest. The scenery of southern China is breathtakingly beautiful. And the comedy performs an amazing feat by being as hilarious as it is tragic, even when conveyed through subtitles.
This film will make you laugh. It will make you cry. But most of all, it will leave you a better person for having watched it. If you have two hours now, check it out. If you don’t have time, well, make time.
Unfortunately, neither NetFlix or Blockbuster carries it, but luckily China has come up with a way to fill every void in the American home video industry. Check it out at: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNzQ5ODg1MzI=.html
1 Comment
May 13, 2009 at 3:35 am
I watched the movie. It was very moving. Funny and very well performed. I am glad you put it in your blog, sweetie!