Final Part 3 - Reflection

I think that Zhang Yimou, the director of The Road Home, chose to incorporate fairytales and myth in the plot because it was a way of showing the innocence of Zhao Di’s love when she was younger, and was also a way of having Zhao Di express her feelings when she was older – so we as an audience understood why she was experiencing so much grief at the loss of Luo Changyu. The fairytale is demonstrated by showing the present time at the beginning of the film in black and white, but then making the transition to color with Zhao Di’s memories of how she fell in love with Luo Changyu, and then back to black and white when she finishes telling the story. I thought the transition between black and white and color in the film effectively demonstrated their love story and how their fairytale both began and came to an end when he passed away. Using this strategy added to the emotional journey that we, as an audience, felt while watching the film; seeing their fairytale journey allowed us to view their struggles and hardships, as well as gain insight as to why Zhao Di and Luo Changyu fell in love with each other. It was extremely enjoyable to watch overall.