China, 1970’s. As the chaos of the Cultural Revolution spreads across the country, Feng Wanyu finds out her husband, Lu Yanshi, a teacher and political prisoner, has escaped. But because of their daughter Dandan, an ambitious dancer recruited by the Red Guard, their reunion is interrupted by the police. During the skirmish, Wanyu falls and awakens with amnesia. Years later, at the end of the revolution, Yanshi returns home to realize she no longer remembers him or the love they have shared since childhood. Yanshi tries to help her get her memory back to reclaim their happiness …

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Seven years after their last collaboration in the magnificent Curse of the Golden Flower, Zhang Yimou and Gong Li team up again for another flamboyant and popular drama, accompanied by the third star of their movies: China. Most notably depicted in 1994’s To Live, the Cultural Revolution again shakes up the lives of a family. The plot is set around a drama that is somewhat over-the-top and lacking in finesse and subtlety. Zhang gets bogged down in a repetitive game rather than exploring the social context, which is much more interesting in the first part, and instead of spending more time on the daughter’s character, who is dropped much too quickly. Coming Home’s second hour drags on in contrast. Luckily, Gong Li is there to add strength to the movie, which offers three-hanky entertainment for more sensitive audiences.