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Synopsis

For the first time in many years, Takata Gou-ichi (Takakura Ken) takes the bullet train to Tokyo from the quiet fisherman's village where he lives on the northwest coast of Japan. His daughter-in-law, Rie (Terajima Shinobu) had telephoned to tell him that his son, Ken-ichi (Nakai Kiichi) is seriously ill, and asking for his father.

But when he arrives in the city, Takata finds that Rie was not entirely truthful: Ken-ichi has been hospitalized, but after years of painful estrangement, he still refuses to see Takata. Crushed, the old man quietly slips out of the hospital, but not before Rie gives him a videotape to watch. What Takata sees on the tape, Rie hopes, will help him get to know his son again.

Takata plays the tape and learns that Ken-ichi is studying a form of Chinese exorcising drama that dates back more than a thousand years. Ken-ichi had traveled all the way to Yunnan Province in Southern China to see the famous actor LI Jiamin perform, but the actor was ill and unable to sing. Li promised to sing the legendary song 'Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles' from the literary classic, 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' for Ken-ichi if he returns to Yunnan the following year.

Hoping to bridge the gap between himself and his son, Takata decides to find Li Jiamin and videotape his performance for the dying Ken-ichi. As the old man begins an odyssey into the heart of China, he encounters a number of strangers who colour his journey — from well-meaning translators who guide him through China's idiosyncrasies, to prison wardens anxious to promote Chinese culture abroad, to a young runaway with a complicated father-son relationship of his own.

What Takata discovers on his journey is kindness... and a sense of family he thought he had lost long ago.

External Links

IMDb	Complete cast details, plot summary, reviews etc.
Official Website	Official movie home page
ComingSoon.net	Movie trailers, release date news

Weekend Chart Record

Date	Rank		Gross	% Change	Theaters	Per Theater	Total Gross	Days
9/1/2006	61		$28,223		5	$5,645	$28,223	3
9/8/2006	65		$21,119	-25.17%	11	$1,920	$64,328	10
9/15/2006	78		$15,118	-28.42%	9	$1,680	$89,528	17
9/22/2006	65		$23,714	+56.86%	13	$1,824	$120,802	24
9/29/2006	73		$14,860	-37.34%	8	$1,858	$145,370	31
10/6/2006	64		$10,047	-32.39%	7	$1,435	$159,232	38
10/13/2006	72		$12,545	+24.86%	8	$1,568	$175,282	45
10/20/2006	69		$11,598	-7.55%	11	$1,054	$190,784	52
10/27/2006	75		$11,774	+1.52%	13	$906	$205,306	59
11/3/2006	92		$3,375	-71.34%	8	$422	$212,552	66
11/10/2006	96		$2,812	-16.68%	9	$312	$216,576	73
11/17/2006	86		$2,966	+5.48%	7	$424	$221,255	80
11/24/2006	81		$3,916	+32.03%	8	$490	$226,576	87
12/1/2006	78		$4,093	+4.52%	13	$315	$232,620	94
12/8/2006	97		$1,483	-63.77%	6	$247	$237,388	101
12/15/2006	78		$3,688	+148.69%	10	$369	$243,048	108
12/22/2006	76		$739	-79.96%	5	$148	$245,597	115
12/29/2006	80		$1,054	+42.63%	5	$211	$247,265	122
1/5/2007	88		$1,628	+54.46%	3	$543	$250,061	129
1/12/2007	96		$149	-90.85%	1	$149	$251,525	136

Daily Chart Record

Date	Rank		Gross	% Change	Theaters	Per Theater	Total Gross	Days
9/4/2006	59		$8,072		5	$1,614	$36,295	4
12/25/2006	73		$198		5	$40	$245,795	116
1/15/2007	82		$60		1	$60	$251,585	137

Worldwide Weekly Chart Record

Date	Rank		Gross	% Change	Theaters	Per Theater	Total Gross
2006-09-07	84		$43,209		5	$8,642	$43,209
2006-09-14	80		$31,201	-27.79%	11	$2,836	$74,410
2006-09-21	95		$22,678	-27.32%	9	$2,520	$97,088
2006-09-28	90		$33,422	+47.38%	13	$2,571	$130,510
2006-10-05	96		$18,675	-44.12%	8	$2,334	$149,185

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