{ "id": "ep3g502dbq", "slug": "riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles", "title": "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (単騎、千里を走る。)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "label": "Drama and biographical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2010-to-2014", "label": "Drama films 2010 to 2014", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2010-to-2014" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2010-to-2014.psychological-and-social-drama-films", "label": "Psychological and social drama films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2010-to-2014.psychological-and-social-drama-films" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020: Drama and biographical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "label": "Drama and biographical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (千里走单骑; 単騎、千里を走る。) is Zhang Yimou's 2005 China-Japan drama starring Ken Takakura as a father filming nuoxi opera in Yunnan for his dying son; it opened the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival and later drew an Anshun dixi attribution lawsuit.", "snippet": "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (千里走单骑; 単騎、千里を走る。) is Zhang Yimou's 2005 China-Japan drama starring Ken Takakura as a father filming nuoxi opera in Yunnan for his dying son; it opened the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival and later drew an Anshun dixi attribution lawsuit.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2010-to-2014.psychological-and-social-drama-films", "markdown": "# Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (単騎、千里を走る。)\n\n**Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles** (Chinese: 千里走单骑; Japanese: 単騎、千里を走る。) is a 2005 drama film directed by [Zhang Yimou](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhang-yimou), a China–Japan co-production starring the Japanese actor [Ken Takakura](https://www.edgepedia.org/ken-takakura) as an estranged father who travels alone to Yunnan, China, to film a folk-opera performance for his dying son.[1](https://shaoyis.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/review-of-riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles-%E5%8D%83%E9%87%8C%E8%B5%B0%E5%8D%95%E9%AA%91-chinajapan-2005/) The film marked Zhang's return to the restrained, realist style of his earlier art films after the martial-arts blockbusters *Hero* (2002) and *House of Flying Daggers* (2003), and it fulfilled his long-held wish to work with Takakura.[2](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1919414/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Directors | Zhang Yimou, with Yasuo Furuhata credited as co-director[1](https://shaoyis.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/review-of-riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles-%E5%8D%83%E9%87%8C%E8%B5%B0%E5%8D%95%E9%AA%91-chinajapan-2005/) |\n| Cast | Ken Takakura, Shinobu Terajima, Kiichi Nakai, Li Jiamin, Qiu Lin, Yang Zhenbo; Mandarin and Japanese dialogue[1](https://shaoyis.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/review-of-riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles-%E5%8D%83%E9%87%8C%E8%B5%B0%E5%8D%95%E9%AA%91-chinajapan-2005/) |\n| Screenplay | Zhang Yimou and Zou Jingzhi; story by Zhang Yimou, Zou Jingzhi, and Wang Bin[3](https://search.worldcat.org/title/Riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles/oclc/67547904) |\n| Running time | 107 minutes[1](https://shaoyis.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/review-of-riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles-%E5%8D%83%E9%87%8C%E8%B5%B0%E5%8D%95%E9%AA%91-chinajapan-2005/) |\n| Premieres | World premiere October 22, 2005, opening the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival; Lijiang premiere December 16, 2005; mainland release December 22, 2005[2](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1919414/) • [4](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2005-11-17/1027899464.html) |\n| Budget | 60 million yuan[5](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2004-11-24/1055577617.html) |\n| Early box office | 22.05 million yuan nationwide within about two weeks of the mainland release[6](https://www.koudaibk.com/doc-view-21566.html) |\n| Critical score | 80% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (59 fresh, 15 rotten reviews)[7](https://tv.apple.com/sg/movie/%E5%8D%83%E9%87%8C%E8%B5%B0%E5%8D%95%E9%AA%91/umc.cmc.5r6dlfcnwgcjsv8xre24xa6z2?l=zh) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nTakata Gou-ichi (Ken Takakura), a Japanese fisherman, has been estranged from his son Ken-ichi (Kiichi Nakai) for years. When Ken-ichi is found to have terminal cancer and refuses to see his father, Takata learns from a videotape that his son had planned to travel to Lijiang, in China's Yunnan province, to record Li Jiamin, the most popular performer of the local nuoxi opera, in the time-honored play *Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles*. Takata sets out to fulfill his son's wish in his place.[8](https://www.asianstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles.pdf) • [9](https://www.iq.com/album/%E5%8D%83%E9%87%8C%E8%B5%B0%E5%8D%95%E9%AA%91-2005-19rr7qjovg?lang=zh_cn)\n\nIn Yunnan, communicating through an interpreter and with little grasp of the language or culture, Takata discovers that Li Jiamin has been imprisoned after wounding someone in a dispute connected with the illegitimate son he abandoned. Takata obtains permission to film Li's performance in prison, but Li breaks down mid-song thinking of his own son, and the recording fails. Takata then undertakes to bring Li's child to the prison, and his journey brings him into contact with villagers and a young boy, [Yang Yang](https://www.edgepedia.org/yang-yang). As Li sings again, Takata receives word that his son has died, having forgiven his father.[9](https://www.iq.com/album/%E5%8D%83%E9%87%8C%E8%B5%B0%E5%8D%95%E9%AA%91-2005-19rr7qjovg?lang=zh_cn) • [10](https://news.pku.edu.cn/xwzh/129-104629.htm)\n\nThe title comes from a story in the *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, the account of [Guan Yu](https://www.edgepedia.org/guan-yu)'s solitary ride of loyalty to [Liu Bei](https://www.edgepedia.org/liu-bei); in the film, the troupe performs an episode of Guan Yu escorting his lord's wives through five passes.[11](https://fass.ubd.edu.bn/staff/docs/YL/yong-liu-2018.pdf) • [12](https://www.ihchina.cn/project_details/16839.html) A line spoken by Takata, that people should face each other without masks, states the film's theme of estrangement and honest feeling.[13](https://qingdaonews.com/content/2005-12/23/content_5771242.htm)\n\n## Development and production\n\nThe project was built around Takakura. Zhang had first invited him to star in *Hero* and been politely declined; in November 2004 the 74-year-old actor came to China and the two finally collaborated.[2](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1919414/) Producer Zhang Weiping said the film was tailored for Takakura because it is a character study in which, as with *[Not One Less](https://www.edgepedia.org/not-one-less)*, the trace of acting should be minimal.[14](https://yule.sohu.com/20041230/n223706633.shtml)\n\nThe screenplay took years. Zhang Weiping dated the start of preparation to 1998, about six years before shooting.[14](https://yule.sohu.com/20041230/n223706633.shtml) Screenwriter Zou Jingzhi, known for television work such as *Kangxi Micro-visit Records*, joined in the later years and described the difficulty as twofold: the script needed the approval of both Zhang Yimou and Takakura, and it had to supply a plausible reason for a foreigner to come to China. He said the outline alone went through 19 drafts.[15](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2005-12-09/ba922766.shtml) The hardest problem, he recalled in another interview, was explaining why a Japanese man would come to China and pursue the goal so stubbornly; the setting was moved from an originally imagined northern or Shaanxi location to Lijiang, a tourist city with developed folk culture.[16](https://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2005-12-22/1744937906.html)\n\nFilming began in secret in Lijiang on November 19, 2004, with a budget of 60 million yuan, much of it spent on pre-production and post-production because the actors' fees were reduced.[5](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2004-11-24/1055577617.html) The production was a licensed China–Hong Kong co-production between Beijing New Picture Film Co. and Elite Group (2004) Enterprises, with a filming permit issued on November 11, 2004 and a public-release permit on July 14, 2005 naming New Picture as the producer.[17](https://www.ciplawyer.net/articles/133318.html) Zhao Xiaoding was the cinematographer and Guo Wenjing the composer.[1](https://shaoyis.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/review-of-riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles-%E5%8D%83%E9%87%8C%E8%B5%B0%E5%8D%95%E9%AA%91-chinajapan-2005/)\n\n## Release and promotion\n\nThe film premiered worldwide on October 22, 2005 as the opening film of the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival, at the Toho Virgin cinema in Roppongi; tickets sold out and were resold online at several times the 2,000-yen face value.[2](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1919414/) The Chinese premiere was held on December 16, 2005 in Lijiang rather than Beijing. Zhang Weiping deliberately abandoned the all-star gala format of *Hero* and *House of Flying Daggers* for a \"mass line\": popular vote-in performers appeared as guests, a 300-meter long-table banquet was laid out, and a mobile dream theater imported from Canada, seating more than 1,000 people, was erected in the old town.[4](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2005-11-17/1027899464.html) • [16](https://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2005-12-22/1744937906.html)\n\nThe mainland release followed on December 22, 2005, placing a quiet art film in the commercially competitive year-end season against Chen Kaige's 300-million-yen spectacle *[The Promise](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-promise-2005-film)*.[6](https://www.koudaibk.com/doc-view-21566.html) • [18](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2005-12-18/1002932494.html) Within about two weeks the national box office reached 22.05 million yuan, with Beijing's New Picture Union circuit accounting for over 5 million.[6](https://www.koudaibk.com/doc-view-21566.html) Zhang Weiping reported that the opening-day box office in Beijing set a record for a [Chinese art](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-art) film.[10](https://news.pku.edu.cn/xwzh/129-104629.htm) Japan received a theatrical release on January 28, 2006 through Toho, and [Sony Pictures Classics](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures-classics) handled the United States release.[6](https://www.koudaibk.com/doc-view-21566.html) • [1](https://shaoyis.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/review-of-riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles-%E5%8D%83%E9%87%8C%E8%B5%B0%E5%8D%95%E9%AA%91-chinajapan-2005/)\n\n## The Anshun dixi attribution dispute\n\nThe opera performed in the film was identified on screen as \"Yunnan mask opera,\" but the performers, masks, repertoire, music, and dialect came from Anshun dixi, a mask-opera tradition of Anshun in Guizhou province that is listed among China's first group of national intangible cultural heritage items and is called a \"living fossil of Chinese theater\" by specialists.[12](https://www.ihchina.cn/project_details/16839.html) In August 2004 a crew member recruited eight performers of the Sanguo opera troupe of Zhanyiatun village in Anshun, who traveled to Lijiang that November and performed episodes including *Fighting at Tong Pass* and *Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles*; the end credits do name \"opera performance: Zhan Xueyan and eight others, Zhanyiatun Sanguo opera troupe, Anshun, Guizhou,\" but the voiceover at 6 minutes 16 seconds says \"this is China's Yunnan mask opera.\"[17](https://www.ciplawyer.net/articles/133318.html) • [19](https://www.chinanews.com/cul/news/2010/06-02/2317843.shtml)\n\nIn January 2010 the Anshun culture bureau announced it would sue Zhang Yimou, Zhang Weiping, and New Picture for infringement of the right of attribution, in what was described as the first rights case over a literary or artistic intangible heritage. The performers said they had delayed action from 2005 partly because Zhang was then competing to direct the 2008 Beijing Olympic ceremonies.[12](https://www.ihchina.cn/project_details/16839.html) A final judgment in the copyright dispute was later issued; the court record confirms the on-screen attribution and the credits as described above.[17](https://www.ciplawyer.net/articles/133318.html) Some scholars defended the film on the ground that fictional works may arrange material as the plot requires, unlike news reporting.[19](https://www.chinanews.com/cul/news/2010/06-02/2317843.shtml)\n\n## Reception\n\nCritics received the film warmly. On the Tomatometer it scored 80 percent, and reviewers highlighted Takakura's nearly wordless performance and the film's restraint; Desson Thomson of *The Washington Post* called it \"a masterful little film\" that is \"subtly heartfelt but never manipulative,\" while Kevin Thomas of the *Los Angeles Times* wrote that it is \"clearly the work of a major filmmaker.\"[7](https://tv.apple.com/sg/movie/%E5%8D%83%E9%87%8C%E8%B5%B0%E5%8D%95%E9%AA%91/umc.cmc.5r6dlfcnwgcjsv8xre24xa6z2?l=zh) • [20](https://watch.plex.tv/zh/movie/riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles?context.unit=HE) Chinese commentary placed it in Zhang's realist line from *The Story of Qiu Ju* and *Not One Less*, noting its plain visual style and its mixture of scripted drama with documentary texture.[21](https://funscreen.tfai.org.tw/node/8000) • [13](https://qingdaonews.com/content/2005-12/23/content_5771242.htm) Zhang himself ranked it among his top works, calling it a film with few mistakes in which he had thought things through clearly.[18](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2005-12-18/1002932494.html) Takakura, after shooting ended, wrote in his autobiography that every day filming *Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles* in China brought him happiness.[2](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1919414/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Review of Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (China/Japan, 2005), Shaoyi Sun's Film Review Blog](https://shaoyis.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/review-of-riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles-%E5%8D%83%E9%87%8C%E8%B5%B0%E5%8D%95%E9%AA%91-chinajapan-2005/)\n2. [千里走单骑 (2006), 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1919414/)\n3. [千里走单骑 = Riding alone for thousands of miles, WorldCat](https://search.worldcat.org/title/Riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles/oclc/67547904)\n4. [张伟平：《单骑》风险投资 日本发行即收回投资, 新浪娱乐 (2005)](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2005-11-17/1027899464.html)\n5. [张伟平谈《千里走单骑》：三月走完 六千万打造, 新浪娱乐 (2004)](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2004-11-24/1055577617.html)\n6. [千里走单骑, 口袋百科](https://www.koudaibk.com/doc-view-21566.html)\n7. [《千里走单骑》, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/sg/movie/%E5%8D%83%E9%87%8C%E8%B5%B0%E5%8D%95%E9%AA%91/umc.cmc.5r6dlfcnwgcjsv8xre24xa6z2?l=zh)\n8. [Media Section: Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, Asian Studies](https://www.asianstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles.pdf)\n9. [千里走单骑 (2005), iQIYI](https://www.iq.com/album/%E5%8D%83%E9%87%8C%E8%B5%B0%E5%8D%95%E9%AA%91-2005-19rr7qjovg?lang=zh_cn)\n10. [《千里走单骑》百年讲堂公映 主创人员首次北京亮相, 北京大学新闻网 (2005)](https://news.pku.edu.cn/xwzh/129-104629.htm)\n11. [《千里走单骑》中的景观表现传统, 影视理论研究 (2018)](https://fass.ubd.edu.bn/staff/docs/YL/yong-liu-2018.pdf)\n12. [安顺叫板张艺谋 打响\"文艺类非遗维权第一案\", 中国非物质文化遗产网 (2010)](https://www.ihchina.cn/project_details/16839.html)\n13. [《千里走单骑》大光明首映 影迷反应热烈, 青岛新闻网 (2005)](https://qingdaonews.com/content/2005-12/23/content_5771242.htm)\n14. [独家揭密张艺谋文艺新片《千里走单骑》, 搜狐娱乐 (2004)](https://yule.sohu.com/20041230/n223706633.shtml)\n15. [《单骑》编剧邹静之：我迷恋于讲故事不能自拔, 新浪娱乐 (2005)](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2005-12-09/ba922766.shtml)\n16. [评论：关于《千里走单骑》的六种声音, 新浪娱乐 (2005)](https://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2005-12-22/1744937906.html)\n17. [安顺文化局诉新画面、张艺谋侵犯著作权纠纷案终审判决书, 知识产权律师网](https://www.ciplawyer.net/articles/133318.html)\n18. [视频：新浪娱乐独家对话《单骑》导演张艺谋, 新浪娱乐 (2005)](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2005-12-18/1002932494.html)\n19. [安顺地戏署名权之争报道, 中国新闻网 (2010)](https://www.chinanews.com/cul/news/2010/06-02/2317843.shtml)\n20. [千里走单骑 (2005), Plex (critics' quotes)](https://watch.plex.tv/zh/movie/riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles?context.unit=HE)\n21. [〖本週院線精選影評〗千里走單騎, 放映週報 (2006)](https://funscreen.tfai.org.tw/node/8000)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2010 to 2014 › Psychological and social drama films*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (単騎、千里を走る。)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (単騎、千里を走る。)](https://www.edgepedia.org/riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles](https://www.edgepedia.org/riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (単騎、千里を走る。)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/riding-alone-for-thousands-of-miles. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles is Zhang Yimou's 2005 China-Japan drama starring Ken Takakura as a father filming nuoxi opera in Yunnan for his dying son; it opened the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival and later drew an Anshun dixi attribution lawsuit." }