I once read a movie critic’s column in which he postulated that there are only two types of Chinese movies.
The first is the overwrought emotional drama, filled with lots of self-sacrifice, honor and ancient wisdom passed along by the obligatory omnipresent, omniscient, wizened relative. There’s always lots of tragedy, and things seldom end well, but at least the characters are starting to pick up the pieces. You figure there might be a rice grain’s worth of hope as long as the planets align and the rain finally comes and all the right people die no sooner than they ought.
The second type of Chinese movie is chop-socky. I don’t have to elaborate there, do I?
“Saving Face” borrows a bit from the former (and none from the latter) but isn’t nearly so emotionally demanding. First-time writer/director Alice Wu has crafted a lighter story that still revolves around the mores of a tightly bound Chinese community but does so by making two decidedly gutsy, unconventional and funny moves.
Michelle Krusiec stars as Wil, a successful doctor in New York. At long last, she’s allowing herself a measure of happiness in a new relationship with Vivian (Lynn Chen), a gorgeous dancer. The hitch comes at every weekend when she takes the train back to Queens to visit her family – specifically her widowed mother. Ma (Joan Chen) is determined to find a suitable husband for Wil, who gamely plays along by dancing with eligible young Chinese men at
weekly socials.
Maintaining the charade is taking its toll on Wil and her relationship with Viv, who has little patience for the obligations of the community. But then a new wrinkle is introduced that upsets the delicate balance of Wil’s two lives. Wil comes home one evening to find Ma literally on the doorstep and desperate to be taken in because she’s pregnant and has been ostracized by the community.
Now Wil is stuck with the demands of her mother and the demands of her girlfriend. But Ma, still unaware of the truth about her daughter’s “friend,” is mortified and shamed at her own predicament and needs Wil’s help. The tables are turned, and now it’s Wil who must scheme to pair her mother with a suitable husband.
Although this is hardly the first movie to explore the relationship between modern, independent Chinese-American women and their mothers (“The Joy Luck Club” is the standard-bearer in that regard), Wu changes things up by giving each woman a social stigma uncommon to the genre. Both Wil’s lesbianism and Ma’s pregnancy are big taboos in terms of both Chinese films and Chinese society.
“Saving Face” isn’t 90 minutes of generational bickering; Wu gives Ma the same frightening, self-actualizing decisions to make that Wil has, and vice versa. As a result, viewers who might have identified with one character are now made to look at the situation from each character’s point of view.
But Wu never lets the tension run away with the movie. The juxtaposition of Ma’s attempts to marry off Wil with Wil’s similar attempts to find a suitor for Ma are hilarious. Joan Chen – one of the most luminous actresses of the past 20 years – has a dynamic flair for comedy, and it’s amazing that this is her first comedic role. That the glamorous Chen could be transformed into the frumpy Ma is a credit to the makeup and wardrobe artists, but it’s Chen herself who injects Ma with deliberate absurdity, particularly when she changes from doorstep refugee into nosy, henpecking mother in a matter
of minutes.
“Saving Face” – in English and Mandarin – is now playing at Plaza Frontenac Cinema.
The showmen behind the woks at Stir Crazy must have a way of saving face as well. How they can stand as close as they do to the flames leaping feet into the air from under their glowing iron bowls is amazing; I would have singed my eyebrows off immediately.
Fortunately, if you’re dining at Stir Crazy, the wok work is left to the professionals – but you do get to play a direct role in your meal’s preparation. Food here is prepared Manchurian-barbecue style – you order the type of meat you prefer and the type of noodle you want, and you’re given two bowls. Then it’s off to a huge buffet-style line of fresh vegetables, herbs and sauces to fill up your bowls as much as you like. Hand your bowls off to one of the chefs and stand back as the flames dance and your meal is prepared before your eyes. It’s a fun and dynamic way to indulge in Chinese food appropriate for a film like “Saving Face.”
This article appears in Jun 1-30, 2005.