Gui lai 2014

Sara Stewart, New York Post: Elegantly touching ... Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: It's a cause for rejoicing. Read more

Maggie Lee, Variety: Heartbreaking in its depiction of ordinary lives affected by political upheaval, this ode to the fundamental values that survive even under such dire circumstances has an epic gravity that recalls another great historical romance, Doctor Zhivago. Read more

Mike D'Angelo, AV Club: One could even call it a shameless weepie. Still, it's a welcome throwback to one of the most emotionally wrenching actor-director partnerships in film history. Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: Amnesia is one of the more hackneyed of plot devices, but it still resounds because memory signifies so much - history, identity, and what remains when time takes everything away. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The idea of a loved one being erased from memory provides an obvious but still potent metaphor for the social engineering of the revolution, and Zhang heightens its poignance by underplaying its political significance. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: A modern yet timeless tragedy that's desperate, sad and rich with devotion. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: As it builds toward its beautifully heartbreaking and tender last scene, chances are you'll be reduced to a sobbing puddle of tears. Read more

Elizabeth Kerr, Hollywood Reporter: Coming Home sinks into a conventional tragic romance rut that not even engaging performances by Gong and Chen can save. Read more

Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: Zhang steers "Coming Home" toward a poignant study of immense distance in small spaces. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: For old fans, there's much to recognize here - an almost Sirkian respect for melodrama, a natural empathy for women, a refusal to forget the past. Some new approaches, too ... Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: Coming Home can be understood as both a Nicholas Sparks-style weepie, and a social commentary about the Cultural Revolution. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: "Coming Home" itself is graceful and modestly scaled, forgoing the historical sweep and the operatic fervor of some of Mr. Zhang's previous work. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Daoming just manages to keep the material from turning into a sentimental variation on "Waiting for Godot." Read more

G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle: I'm not sure if there's room in the new Chinese film world, which like American cinemas is now dominated by big-budget special effects films, for another series of Gong-Zhang films. But they should forge ahead. They've recaptured the magic. Read more

Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail: Intriguingly, the director has successfully woven a Kafkaesque metaphor into a classically Chinese melodrama. Read more

Bruce Demara, Toronto Star: Chen and Gong, two of China's most respected actors, offer two great performances in a film about love, loss and perseverance that will nearly break your heart. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: I'm unembarrassed about giving in to Coming Home. Sometimes you just have to ask yourself one question: Why else go to the movies? Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: As Lu and Feng struggle to reconnect, and find themselves settling for the oddest of dependencies, it's hard to be unmoved. Read more

Mark Jenkins, Washington Post: The beautifully composed shots are studies in shadow and sunlight, drizzle and grime. Read more