Taking Father Home

Taking Father Home

Year: 2005

Runtime: 100 mins

Language: Chinese

Director: Ying Liang

Drama

A 17‑year‑old from a Sichuan village travels to the city in search of the father who vanished six years ago. Though his mother still receives the man's money, the boy’s anger remains untamed. He seeks not reconciliation but revenge, wandering the urban sprawl with a basket of ducks slung on his back, lost and determined.

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Timeline & Setting – Taking Father Home (2005)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Taking Father Home (2005). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Sichuan Province (rural village), Zigong City

A rural village in Sichuan is slated for relocation to clear space for a government-led industrial zone, forcing residents to confront loss and change. The story then follows Xu Yun’s move toward Zigong, a city where labor, commerce, and risk collide. The setting shifts between the quiet riverbank, crowded city streets, and the hospital, highlighting the tension between village life and urban systems.

🏞️ Rural landscapes 🏙️ Urban relocation 💧 River and flood imagery

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 14:21

Main Characters – Taking Father Home (2005)

Meet the key characters of Taking Father Home (2005), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Xu Yun (Xiaopei Liu)

A determined rural-born seeker who leaves his relocated village to find the father who raised him. He carries only a basket with two ducks and a knife engraved with his father’s name, a constant link to a man who vanished years earlier. His resilience grows through hardship, improvisation, and a stubborn refusal to bow to circumstances.

🎯 Determination 🧭 Resourcefulness 👣 Journey

Scar-faced Man

An enigmatic, rough-edged city figure whose brief mentorship and later violent actions push Xu Yun toward a sharper sense of courage. His presence exposes the dualities of desperation and loyalty that haunt urban life.

🗺️ Streetwise 🗡️ Violence ⚖️ Ambiguity

Father

The father figure who fights to protect himself from creditors and whom Xu Yun confronts in the final act. He does not recognize his son at first; the confrontation ends in tragedy that sits at the edge between memory and loss.

👨‍👦 Family 💔 Absence ⚖️ Responsibility

Police Officer

A practical, compassionate officer who offers Xu Yun shelter for a night and urges him to return to the village, illustrating moments of mercy within the city’s harsh rhythm.

👮‍♂️ Aid 🛡️ Protection 🧭 Guidance

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 14:21

Major Themes – Taking Father Home (2005)

Explore the central themes of Taking Father Home (2005), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🛡️ Perseverance

Xu Yun’s quest unfolds through hardship, detours, and moments of desperation, yet he refuses to quit. He persists through homelessness, uncertainty, and danger, relying on small acts of resilience and the stubborn launchpad of memory to propel him forward.

🧭 Home and Memory

The absence of Xu Yun’s father haunts his journey, with memories tethered to objects like the engraved knife and a planned reunion that never fully arrives. The pursuit of home blurs with the pull of duty, and memory becomes a compass guiding him through the city’s labyrinth. Ultimately, he tries to reconcile past and present by returning some piece of his father to the village.

🏙️ Urban Hardness

The city exposes a merciless economic frame and street-level violence that shape Xu Yun’s choices. Figures like the scar-faced man embody rough survival, while a compassionate police officer offers fragile shelter within a system that can be both protective and cold. Flood warnings and hospital scenes underscore life’s fragility amid urban pressures.

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 14:21

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Somber journeys of rural alienation like in Taking Father Home

Gritty stories of characters lost and determined in harsh urban landscapes.If you liked the determined, lonely journey in Taking Father Home, explore more movies about characters navigating harsh urban environments from a rural perspective. These stories share a gritty, melancholic tone and focus on themes of alienation and perseverance.

lonelymelancholicgrittycontemplativeatmosphericsomberdeterminedalienation

Narrative Summary

The narrative follows a protagonist who leaves a familiar, often rural, setting for an imposing city. Their quest—whether for a person, revenge, or a better life—is fraught with obstacles and a deep sense of alienation. The plot unfolds slowly, emphasizing the character's internal emotional struggle as much as their external goal.

Why These Movies?

Movies in this thread are grouped by their shared focus on the rural-to-urban transition as a source of conflict and melancholy. They feature determined but lonely protagonists, a contemplative pacing that allows for atmospheric world-building, and a heavy emotional weight stemming from themes of loss and survival.

Bittersweet reckonings with family myth like in Taking Father Home

Quests for absent parents that reveal painful truths and lead to complex closure.For viewers who appreciated the complex emotional journey in Taking Father Home, this thread features movies about searching for absent parents. These films explore the painful contrast between memory and reality, often ending with a bittersweet and heavy sense of closure.

sombercontemplativedeterminedmelancholicheavygrittyemotionalpainful truth

Narrative Summary

The narrative is driven by a protagonist's need to find and confront a long-lost parent. Their quest is as much about understanding the past as it is about the future, often involving a reevaluation of cherished memories. The climax typically involves a difficult truth and an act—like revenge or forgiveness—that provides a somber, emotionally resonant release rather than a simple happy ending.

Why These Movies?

These films share a focus on the psychologically heavy theme of parental absence and the myths that surround it. They are characterized by a melancholic tone, moderate narrative complexity as the truth is slowly uncovered, and a bittersweet ending feel that acknowledges the pain of the journey.

Unlock the Full Story of Taking Father Home

Don't stop at just watching — explore Taking Father Home in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Taking Father Home is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Taking Father Home Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Taking Father Home, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Taking Father Home Summary

Taking Father Home Timeline

Track the full timeline of Taking Father Home with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Taking Father Home Timeline

Taking Father Home Spoiler-Free Summary

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Taking Father Home Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Taking Father Home

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Taking Father Home: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

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