It is best read as a paean to the power of music -- while it is playing, the film is at its most persuasive.

| Jan 11, 2018

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 1, 2006

Never wavers from its serviceably warm and fuzzy path.

| Original Score: C+ | Mar 19, 2006

...a small-scale movie set in modern Beijing that comes right up to the brink of mawkishness and is saved only by some residual inscrutability in the narrative.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jan 29, 2005

This film has wonderful music in it, and a pretty good story. The acting is solid and the cinematography is excellent.

| Original Score: B | Jan 18, 2004

Reeks of sentimentality and mawkish characterizations.

| Original Score: C | Dec 30, 2003

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 25, 2003

A powerful film that should have been much better.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 21, 2003

Together is a drama of exceptional, elegant beauty... it's the kind of movie that makes you smile, that breaks your heart, that keeps you watching for more.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 19, 2003

a story of old China versus new, of the transforming power of music, and of the love between a father and his son

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 17, 2003

So scattered, so full of pointless digressions, that it never really comes together.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 8, 2003

With gorgeous images by cinematographer Kim Hyungkoo and with Chen Kaige's observation of telling details, Together becomes a sweet story with a tart kick.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 8, 2003

The performances are all terrific, but Together never jells as a compelling narrative.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jun 29, 2003

It's a touching film in which the actors, including director Chen Kaige in the role of Prof. Yu, deliver heart-touching performances.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 27, 2003

[Film-goers] are treated to lots of lovely music, both Western and Asian, as well as a vibrant look at the arts in modern China.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jun 27, 2003

Together is a pretty good film, but is a story you've seen a thousand times at the movies.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jun 27, 2003

If you're in the mood for tears and triumph, with a dash of exoticism, Together may well be the film for you.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 27, 2003

Like Shine minus the child abuse.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Jun 26, 2003

As the movie progresses, it builds in power, so that by the end you're helplessly invested in the triumphs of its young hero.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 20, 2003

The story is never boring, but it's never exciting, harrowing, or hilarious, either

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 19, 2003