Coming Home (China)

Acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern) takes his cues from Chinese weepies with a sentimental tale of a family ravaged by the Cultural Revolution. Dissident professor Lu (Chen Daoming) returns home decades after being released from prison in the post-Revolution period. His eternally loyal wife Yu (Gong Li), however, is experiencing amnesia. She doesn't recognize him and still awaits her husband's return, even though he is right in front of her. Their daughter, a spoiled ballerina (Zhang Huiwen) who put party above family, is guilt-ridden for turning in her own father and hurt by her mother's inability to forgive her. Lu repeatedly attempts to ingratiate himself with Yu and to trick her into recognizing who he is. Although the drama is well-acted, the repeated pattern of hope and disappointment becomes tiresome as does the heavyhanded soundtrack. The story, however, remains a heartbreaking illustration of individual lives crushed by leviathan political forces.

Center for Performing Arts, October 10 (12:30 p.m.)