Together

Tagline

Some lessons can only be learned by heart.

Synopsis

Together is an unabashed tearjerker directd by China's Chen Kaige, most famous for his spectacular period films including the Palme d'Or award winning Farewell My Concubine and The Emperor and the Assassin.

Together tells the story of Xiaochun, a shy 13-year-old violin prodigy from a provincial town, whose father, Liu Cheng, believes all it will take for his son to achieve fame and fortune is to get him a master teacher. With their meagre savings hidden under Liu Cheng's red hat, they head for bustling Beijing.

The big city is exciting for Xiaochen, who befriends his neighbour Lili, a beautiful party girl and wily charmer. Meanwhile, Liu Cheng's persistence pays off, by persuading Professor Jiang to teach Xiaochen. Part cynic and part romantic, Jiang was a once-talented pianist who has retreated to a shabby apartment with his cats and dirty laundry. They become close friends, but Liu Cheng decides it's time to move up to a better teacher and sets his sights on the famous Professor Yu, who trains the biggest classical music stars in the country.

When Xiachen must decide whether to leave his father and live with Professor Yu, he is essentially deciding to leave an older, more human China, and enter a modern, increasingly Western world of ambition, success and media marketing. But at its core, Together is about family, love and devotion. Xiaochen is torn between his love for his father, who is willing to sacrifice everything for him and the realisation of his own ambitions and dreams.

Shot in rich, emotive colours, Together is a genuinely heartfelt picture, infused with life and warmth in every scene.