81
Metascore
21 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyEntertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyYimou’s lovely import is the kind of lump-in-your-throat drama they don’t make much anymore, at least in Hollywood. Watching Coming Home you’ll wonder why that is — and who we can write a letter to to fix it.
- 90Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekVillage VoiceStephanie ZacharekComing Home obviously has historical and political significance for Chinese who lived through the Cultural Revolution, and for families that were torn apart by it. But Zhang tells this particular story in a deeply personal way — the time and place of its setting have a specific meaning, but its emotional contours spread out into something bigger.
- 90Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleLos Angeles TimesRobert AbeleZhang and his sterling actors have made something fairly unforgettable about the tragedy of forgetting.
- 88Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenComing Home is a film in which everyone's dreams are irrevocably broken, the pieces too small to grasp, let alone pick up.
- 80VarietyMaggie LeeVarietyMaggie LeeHeartbreaking in its depiction of ordinary lives affected by political upheaval, this ode to the fundamental values that survive even under such dire circumstances has an epic gravity that recalls another great historical romance, “Doctor Zhivago.”
- 75The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloThe A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloIt’s a less pointed and implicitly feminist work than such classics as "Raise The Red Lantern" and "The Story Of Qiu Ju" —one could even call it a shameless weepie. Still, it’s a welcome throwback to one of the most emotionally wrenching actor-director partnerships in film history.
- 67The PlaylistJessica KiangThe PlaylistJessica KiangWhile tears will be jerked, heartstrings plucked and throats enlumpened, it has to go down as a disappointment in the director’s catalogue.
- 60The GuardianXan BrooksThe GuardianXan BrooksA sweet yet suspect romantic drama.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterComing Home sinks into a conventional tragic romance rut that not even engaging performances by Gong and Chen can save.