This 1999 film tells the story of "I" returning to my hometown after receiving news of my father's death when I was working abroad. My mother insisted on taking my father to walk the road they had traveled again. "I" also recalled this kind of father and mother. An innocent and simple love story of the older generation. The complex and changeable colors in the film also show the romantic twists and turns of the father and mother's previous love road.
①The vast golden color at first sight
When my father first set foot in this small village on a sunny afternoon, how dazzling my father was in my mother's eyes, as if all around him were plated with a layer of "gold edge". This dazzling color not only constitutes the beauty of the picture, but also indicates that the seeds of love have been sown in the mother's heart.
②The hot flame when we met and fell in love
Red symbolizes eagerness and vitality of life. The red jacket, scarf and hairpin on the mother's body are all showing the scorching heat of love and the splendor of life. The tone of the film combines warm colors and soft light to fully express the girl's ardent hope for love and strong inner emotions.
③Residual white during separation
When the father was forced to leave the village during a politically sensitive period, the film abandoned the warm tones throughout the first half of the film and replaced it with a slightly bleak white. When the biting cold wind blows relentlessly on the mother, the unpleasant cold tones form a strong contrast with the soft colors in front, which more powerfully highlights the desolation and longing in the mother's heart at this time.
④ Black and white reality and colorful memories
The film uses the difference of color to express the difference of the times. The color lens is beautiful, and it is a wonderful time when my father and mother have been together for more than 40 years. In the era of black-and-white shots in the film, my father is no longer there, and the passing of my father has left a heavy haze on the hearts of "me", my mother and the villagers. Especially for the mother, she can no longer see the tall figure of her father, and can no longer hear the voice of Lang Lang teaching that she has not been tired of listening to for more than 40 years. Strike!
And this shooting method can better highlight the key points of the film's story, and the color part also depicts the simple but romantic love between father and mother.
Director Zhang Yimou used ingenious colors to show us a simple and beautiful picture of love, from the first sight that seems to be plated with a "gold edge", to the fiery red of acquaintance and love, and the desolate residual white. And black and white pictures with different styles, each color is very suitable for the development of the story. It made countless audiences moved and regretted.
View more about The Road Home reviews
