Yearender: Film critics' top 10 Chinese films of 2015

No 8: River Road

A screen capture from River Road. [Photo/Mtime]

Zhang Yan: The story centers on two children of Yugur nationality on their way to search for their grandfather. From estrangement, to confrontations, and finally to mutual understanding, the film depicts the intimate relationship between two small souls. This small production showcased the artistic structure and creativity in ethnic films.

Su Qiqi: This "searching for father" story is not profound. In fact, it is somewhat simple. And yet, I was moved, moved by the children, by the camels, by the boundless natural landscapes, and by the abandoned moldering scattered all throughout. The world we live in is in a crisis. River Road cannot provide answers, but did portray the reality. If nostalgia had a meaning, it may push people to protect these memories.

In brief: The film, directed by Li Ruijun, focuses on the adventures of two brothers of the Yugur people (an ethnic minority in Gansu province) on their way to find their grandfather. Two brothers never talked to each other before the journey due to misunderstanding and years spent apart.