Learning that his estranged adult son Ken-ichi (Nakai), a filmmaker, is ailing from cancer, Japanese fisherman Takata (Takatura) travels to Tokyo to see him — but is rebuffed in his efforts to make peace. Undaunted, and inspired by a documentary Ken-ichi made of Chinese folk-opera star Li Jiamin (played by himself), Takata flies to mainland China to complete the project his son began, embarking on a life-changing journey that may just help heal old wounds.

The great Zhang Yimou is best known in the States for his high-wire swordplay epics like “Hero” and “House of Flying Daggers.” But after these fantasy-laden odes to Chinese history, Zhang returns to gorgeous, humanistic tale-weaving with “Miles.” Age-old Chinese folk opera is the bonding glue in this beautifully photographed, double-layered story of father-son estrangement, and Takatura, known as Japan’s Clint Eastwood, plays the laconic Takata with melancholy gravity.