Film Forum

Mon: 5:30 ONLY
Tue: 2:30 & 7:00 ONLY
Wed/Thur: 2:30 ONLY

(1985) “A wonderful film about a more-or-less westernised Chinese family in San Francisco. Geraldine (Laureen Chew) is perfectly happy going steady with her long-standing boyfriend, and she doesn’t want to leave her widowed mother (Kim Chew) alone. But Mrs. Tam is convinced that she will die soon, and she’s determined to see Geraldine married. It’s hard to say what makes this modest, undramatic story so extremely appealing. Maybe it’s because Wang uses one family’s experience as a key to a larger picture of the Chinese immigrant experience. Maybe because he’s learned from Ozu and Allen Fong how to structure scenes that faithfully record the chaotic sprawl of everyday life. Or maybe it’s just because of the great sense of humour.” – Tony Rayns, Time Out. Also starring Victor Wong, Cora Miao & Joan Chen. DCP. Approx. 86 mins.

STRAND RELEASING

Reviews

“After the success of Chan Is Missing, his first slice-of-life about Chinese-Americans, Wang was looking for another story, and when he saw some shoes left outside a Chinese home, he knew he had his viewpoint, and only had to create his characters. He has created some unforgettable ones… The movie is not heavily plotted, and that's good; a heavy hand would spoil this fragile material. Wang's camera enters quietly and observes as his characters lead their lives, trying to find a compromise between too much loneliness and too much risk.”
– Roger Ebert

Links