Directed by Gaopeng Tang, The Road Not Taken is a film that was shown at many foreign film festival. I've heard various opinions ranging from people enjoying the film to people complaining that the content was a bit too much. Either way, this film was well talked about last year. The film stars Wang Xuebing, Yili Ma, and child actor Zhu Gengyou.
A man driving an animal transporter truck is given the job of looking after a little boy as they drive through the lonely dessert. Where will the road take them? And for the enrichment of who?
The Road Not Taken can actually be viewed as a very strange film. Especially if you compare all the other Chinese cinema that were coming out at the time of this film's release. I have to agree with some of the comments about the content. The opening scenes of animal violence and child frontal nudity did nothing for me except make me cringe. What direction this film wanted to go was as uncertain as the outstretch of the dessert the characters were in. One part of the film is a comedic adventure containing a man and a boy. Some backstory is given on the boy for a relatable connection which doesn't actually make you like him. You instead want this boy to get to where he's suppose to be. There's so many twist and turns in the plot as the characters travel from place to place that I don't know what to classify The Road Not Taken. Script writers finally settle on this film being a gangster ransom thriller. Nothing new is brought to the genre with The Road Not Taken's conclusion but at least people who are into East Asian films like these won't feel like they are on unfamiliar ground.
I found another film where I didn't care about any of the characters. My heart felt nothing for the situations the characters were subjected to. Mostly because they did it to themselves. Well… not the kid….. The acting performances defiantly played off of each other. For example, if the child actor Zhu wasn't talented enough to give a performance that got something out of the adult actors and actresses that he had scenes with, this film would be nothing. Those vibes of tension then release as the two characters become closer throughout their journey are the golden moments of The Road Not Taken. Zu's character actually grew the most out of everyone. I believe the director was trying to show that all three characters had some sort of growth but one was more visible than others. Nothing was wrong with the acting and they did a good job using what they had.
The camera shots give The Road Not Taken a raw artsy feel. Much of the film takes place in a dessert. I didn't even know that China had desserts like this. Still, taking in the sights were made a much better experience because of the fashion of the shots. A hawk eye's view from above gives the viewer a whole span of the land as the truck went into the horizon. Far off shots were also used for a scene where the main character has a confrontation in an apartment with gangsters. Not seeing the action up close gives the viewer a sense of urgency at the sound of gunshots. The cameraman plays with shots that are unconventional or not right for a scene, however, he makes it work. This is another different trait that The Road Not Taken has over other Chines films.
I would watch The Road Not Taken again. There's something about the film that makes me want to watch it again. Even thought I wouldn't call it my favorite film.
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