China's changing tune

A grateful patron hands a fistful of cash to a young violinist after his performance at a banquet. Having failed to persuade the boy's father to accept the money, the benefactor grins at the child: "At least you understand how life works."

This little exchange perfectly encapsulates the thematic conflict of Chen Kaige's latest film: this is the New China, where a new class of go-getting, ambitious professionals is at odds with the old values.

Raised by his peasant father, Liu Cheng (played by Liu Peiqi), in a provincial city, 13-year-old Xiaochun (Tang Yun) is a gifted violinist. Eventually Liu Cheng resolves to take his son to Beijing to further his musical career.

The boy auditions for one of the city's prestigious music academies but is rejected; he is disappointed to learn that he would have won a place had his father been wealthier.

Undeterred, Liu Cheng engages the embittered and cynical professor Jiang (Wang Zhiwen) to teach his son. Jiang lives in a kind of selfimposed squalor in a small apartment. He treats his pupil more like a skivvy than a musical prodigy and before long the boy turns on him.

When it is revealed that Jiang is broken-hearted after losing the woman he loved to a richer, more successful man, the boy is overwhelmed with confusion. He has to juggle his feelings of anger (at his teacher for abandoning hope); sublimated love (for his ideal-father substitute); and passion (for his music).

Everything changes when Liu Cheng takes his son to meet a new teacher, the sleek professor Yu (Chen Kaige), who takes the boy on even though he already has a star pupil. The stage is set for a contrived final showdown between the rival pupils.

As an emotional drama about father and son, this veers dangerously close to soap opera, with a last-minute revelation shamelessly designed to tickle the tear ducts. It is best read as a paean to the power of music - while it is playing, the film is at its most persuasive.

Together With You
Cert: certPG