The Joy Luck Club **** (1993, Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao, Kieu Chinh, Tsai Chin) – Classic Movie Review 12,685

Above (left to right): Suyuan (Kieu Chinh), June (Ming-Na Wen), Waverly (Tamlyn Tomita), Lindo (Tsai Chin), Ying-Ying (France Nuyen), Lena (Lauren Tom), An-Mei (Lisa Lu), and Rose (Rosalind Chao).

Wayne Wang’s relishable 1993 American drama film The Joy Luck Club looks into the relationships between a group of Chinese-American women and their Chinese immigrant mothers.

Director Wayne Wang’s relishable 1993 American drama film The Joy Luck Club concerns itself with the relationships between a group of Chinese-American women and their Chinese immigrant mothers.

It stars Kieu Chinh, Tsai Chin, Ming Na-Wen, Tamlyn Tomita, France Nuyen, Lisa Lu, Ming Na-Wen, Rosalind Chao, Lauren Tom, Andrew McCarthy, and Diane Baker.

The Joy Luck Club was formed by four women in San Francisco: Lindo Jong (Tsai Chin), Ying-Ying St. Clair (France Nuyen), An-Mei Hsu (Lisa Lu), and Suyuan Woo (Kieu Chinh).

The film is based on the 1989 novel by Amy Tan, who co-writes the screenplay with Ronald Bass. Amy Tan’s bestseller about the deep and difficult relationships between four mothers born in China and living in the US and their American-born daughters is turned into a meticulously made, delicately acted and moving film from director Wang.

The Joy Luck Club is a richly embroidered tapestry of great beauty, wisdom and emotional power, packed with as many truthful and heartrending scenes as resonant performances. The flashback sequences to old (1940s) China and the days of the mothers’ childhoods and their relationships with their own mothers all have the epic sweep and grandeur to counterpoint the equally powerful intimacy of the modern-day scenes in San Franciscan homes.

Perhaps it is a bit shamelessly manipulative, what with all the tears shed and lush music, and maybe also a bit confused in the telling. With all the multiple flashbacks it is hard to remember where we are in the story. But otherwise The Joy Luck Club is splendid.

The cast are Suyuan (Kieu Chinh), June (Ming-Na Wen), Waverly (Tamlyn Tomita), Lindo (Tsai Chin), Ying-Ying (France Nuyen), Lena (Lauren Tom), An-Mei (Lisa Lu), and Rose (Rosalind Chao), Andrew McCarthy as Ted Jordan, Russell Wong as Lin Xiao, and Diane Baker as as Mrs Jordan.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,685

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