Sou Jiu, internationally known as Come Back Home or Polar Rescue, is an intense family drama from the People's Republic of China. It shows legendary martial artist Donnie Yen in a completely new role as this film doesn't feature any fight sequences at all. To my very positive surprise, Donnie Yen stunningly delivers the goods as this drama turns out to be much better than its lukewarm reception might have indicated.
Let's focus on the story first. Donnie Yen is a family father with a hot temper who is on a winter holiday with his wife, his daughter and his son. The quartet plans on visiting a lake but has a minor car accident on the rough country road. His son is severely disappointed and criticizes his father harshly. The family father overreacts and decides to drive away with his daughter and his wife to teach his son a lesson. When he returns about five minutes later, his son has however disappeared. A search mission is organized as tension drastically increases over time. The family father prevents authorities from doing their job accurately, has frequent arguments with police officers, becomes a suspect in his son's disappearance, is bothered by influencers on social media and realizes how even his own wife alienates from him.
This film convinces on numerous levels. First and foremost, the story is dramatic, entertaining and gripping from start to finish. The movie has excellent pace and gets to the point in one hundred two minutes. The acting performances are excellent and especially Donnie Yen convinces as a family father on the edge. The locations in northern China are gorgeous and should appeal to anyone who admires winter time. The special effects in the movie are quite intense as they are used in small doses. The film's dramatic finale left a particularly lasting impression upon me.
On the negative side, one might criticize that some parts of the plot feel exaggerated to a point that they become unrealistic. This movie thus asks for a complete suspension of disbelief. As almost all contemporary Chinese productions, this movie here also includes a heavy dose of patriotism. The film points out the heroic actions of the rescue team when they remember past accomplishments and sing nationalistic songs. However, such minor flaws don't bother much in this very good film because they aren't heavily overused and don't take anything away from the positive elements mentioned above.
In the end, Sou Jiu, also known as Polar Rescue and Come Back Home, is an intense family drama set in wonderful landscapes and featuring a healthy dose of action sequences. Don't expect a traditional martial arts film since this movie involves Donnie Yen. This film should rather be seen as an emancipation for this underrated actor who is finally not typecast for another massive action spectacle.
