Postmen In The Mountains (2002)

Description

Set in in the fairy-tale wilderness of Hunan Province, "Postmen in the Mountains" is a visually gorgeous, pleasant and sometimes poignant film of the old story between father and son, tradition and change. Slowed down by arthritis, a middle-aged rural postman passes his route on to his son, whom he takes on his final trip. As the pair and their loyal and resourceful dog wander over misty terrain like figures in a Chinese landscape painting, the love, pride and dedication revealed is as deep as the rich emerald backdrop. With his father often away on duty while he grew up, the son resented and feared him, and he felt bad for his seemingly abandoned mother. But now, as he experiences the burden that his father carried for years and he realizes the far-flung villagers along the mail route depend on the old man, he begins to appreciate the nobility of the profession. Best at its moments of simplest poetry "Postmen in the Mountains" makes sentiment into art.. The story looks as simple as it can be, yet the postmen's path is an endlessly rough and lonely journey.