Inspired by a real life incident, Getting Home is a road movie in the purest sense as the plot follows Zhao, a construction worker whose best friend Liu dies, leaving him to fulfil a promise that he will return his body to his distant hometown. Short on money, the determined Zhao decides to carry his friend’s corpse on his back, relying on help from the people he meets on his travels. Progressing in anecdotal fashion, Zhao encounters a variety of quirky characters, some of whom help and some of whom hinder him in his journey, stringing together a series of clever observations on the lives of everyday people in modern rural China, both believable and fascinating. Revolving around a number of small, personal stories the plot is frequently unpredictable, as we never know what lies around the corner, or who he will run into next. Despite the subject matter, it makes for upbeat and life affirming viewing, helped by the fact that the honest and loyal Zhao makes for a great, sympathetic protagonist.
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