Film Name: 万里归途 / Home Coming
Went to see Home Coming and it far exceeded expectations!
The movie tells the story of Zong Dawei, a diplomat, and others who completed the evacuation mission in the midst of many difficulties and dangers after war broke out in the Republic of Numia.
More real, more ordinary, more flesh and blood, but thrilling and soul shaking but no less, the movie that overcame the experience of hardship and danger, but also I can not help but think of the “difficult to walk” in the aspiring full of famous lines: the long wind will sometimes break the waves, hanging straight cloud sail to help the sea.
[Friendly reminder: there will be spoilers below].
As far as a theatrical commercial movie is concerned, Home Coming is undoubtedly “good” and of high quality.
One of the most satisfying aspects of the movie is the gradual and well-paced pace of the movie.
Careful viewers will not find it difficult to realize that the two protagonists in the film – former resident diplomat Zong Dawei and newcomer Cheng Lang of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – both of them carry out the evacuation mission, which is escalating under the collision of objective difficulties and subjective will.
They could have flown back on the spot, but stayed in Numia for the greater good;
Originally should take the nearest ship to leave the country, but because of the sacrifice of colleagues Zhang Ning and pick up the burden of traveling;
Originally, the mission was accomplished by bringing the expatriates through the border station, but returned to the war zone again for the sake of Zhang Ning’s widow, Bai Tranquility, and others;
Originally, most of the remaining people to reach Dirat is already considered a victory, but in order to “not leave a person behind” to return and encountered the rebels ……
The pace of this layered narrative is very comfortable and balances characterization and setting while keeping the story watchable.
One of the most impressive aspects of Home Coming is the differences and disputes between Zong Da Wei and Cheng Lang about the strategy of leading the team.
Before Zong Da Wei left, he thought that there would be at most a dozen people around Bai Tranquillity, but after meeting up, he found out that 125 people were stranded in the war zone, and in the absence of communication and instructions, Zong Da Wei, who was unwilling to sit on the sidelines and wait for death, took it upon himself to take everyone to Dirat, where they had the best chance of being rescued.
From the very beginning, Cheng Lang disagreed with Zong Dawei’s behavior and insisted on telling everyone the truth as soon as possible, even though it had caused negative impacts in the end, but he did not argue about the difference between right and wrong.
This conflict is actually very difficult to talk about. Zong Da Wei “did the right thing but not the right thing”, while Cheng Lang “was right but didn’t care about the consequences”, the two sides are in a conflict of “right and right”! –Home Coming is remarkable in that it doesn’t take the position of the seniors to criticize the young people for being naive and uninformed, but rather shows the pain and thoughts of both sides as much as possible.
It would have been easy to simply deal with this conflict or not film it at all, but the movie chooses the difficult path, and also shows the mutual understanding and growth of Jong Dae-wai and Sung-ryong, and for that alone, Home Coming is a good movie.
At the same time, the movie’s portrayal of the war in the Middle East is also quite realistic, especially the few supporting roles, which are quite representative of the war in the Middle East.
For example, Wadil, a local employee of a Chinese company, is an old man who has transcended tribal enmity and accepted the rules of an enlightened society. He chooses to sacrifice himself in order to save Zong Dawei from a difficult situation, and in front of a group of people who are eager to return home, he provides a unique perspective of an old man who is “hard to leave his homeland”.
And then there is the cunning and underhanded rebel battalion commander, Muftah, who is keen to play a false game of Russian roulette with others, using it to belittle others and elevate himself, but in the end, Zong Dawei’s courage backfires on him, and his cowardice is helpful in pondering the ugly nature of this kind of cyclical warfare.
It’s also worth noting that the diplomats in Home Coming are portrayed in a very real way, not in the direction of grandiosity.
Like Zhang Ning who stays in Numia for the sake of succession and promotion, Zong Dawei who goes against the grain, Cheng Lang’s idealization, Yan Xingzhou’s boarding and so on, all of them have the logic of behavior that we can understand, and they are very grounded.
The movie shows the ordinary side of the diplomats, but also highlights their extraordinary nature on a larger level: unarmed flesh and blood, but able to rely on courage and wisdom to find a silver lining in the midst of chaos.
Although in order to pursue the watchability, the movie in the adaptation made a lot of graft and artistic treatment, but a link to the reality of the experience of the diplomats, I am afraid that the film will not feel exaggerated, just “diplomats were pointed at the head of a gun” this danger, history has happened many times:
In August 1990, Sun Bo, a member of the diplomatic attaché of the Chinese Embassy in Kuwait, was seized by three armed Iraqi soldiers when he was out shopping, and forced to state China’s attitude toward Iraq’s attack on Kuwait; although he defused the crisis with a nonchalant response, he was subsequently nearly shot in the head;
Earlier this year, during the evacuation of Ukrainian nationals, there was also a case in which Chinese diplomats were suddenly held at gunpoint in the process of checking out a certain site on the ground, but fortunately the situation was eventually resolved.
It is also because of the rich real-life experience of diplomats provides a lot of archetypal material, “Home Coming” to be able to dedicate a dangerous and immersive story.
Speaking of which, I have to mention the subtle egg at the end of the movie.
Originally, Wu Jing’s cameo as Sung Lang’s father would have been funny and surprising enough, but then his act of covering the computer sublimated the movie’s main theme.
As the saying goes, “You don’t know the goodness of a country until you’re abroad, and you don’t know the goodness of a home until you’re away from home”, the firecrackers at New Year’s Eve, the quarrels between neighbors, all these ordinary things, in the eyes of Zong Dawei, who has survived the death, are worth cherishing – just like the playfulness of the beach and the lights of the house at night, the most ordinary things in our eyes, the most ordinary things in our eyes. The most ordinary things in our eyes are actually the most precious things.
Home Coming says nothing explicitly, but it’s worth a thousand words.
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