"Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" is a touching story about a man's quest for redemption and to repair the relationship with his son. This is also a story about a foreigner in a strange country and the isolation one can feel by not speaking the language, even when you are surrounded by people. Even though the father and son are never able to see each other before the son dies, the gesture the father makes by going on his journey leads to a much deeper connection between the father and son than they would have achieved through small talk in a hospital room. Redemption is achieved not only through his son's letter, but also, showing the pictures of Yang Yang to his imprisoned father, indirectly reconnecting them together.
