The Joy Luck Club (film)

Infobox_Film
name = The Joy Luck Club


producer =Oliver Stone
Amy Tan
Patrick Markey
writer = Amy Tan (writer)
screenplay = Amy Tan
& Ronald Bass
starring = Ming-Na
Rosalind Chao
Lauren Tom
France Nuyen
Tamlyn Tomita
Kieu Chinh
Lisa Lu
Tsai Chin
director = Wayne Wang
distributor = Hollywood Pictures
released = September 8, 1993
runtime = 139 min.
language = English
Mandarin
Cantonese
imdb_id = 0107282
music =
awards =
budget =

"The Joy Luck Club" is a 1993 American film about the relationships between Chinese-American women and their Chinese mothers. It is based on the 1989 novel of the same name by Amy Tan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronald Bass. The film was produced by Oliver Stone and directed by Wayne Wang. The cast is notable for consisting primarily of Asian American women.

International names

Chinese: (Traditional) 喜福會 (Simplified) 喜福会 pinyin: Xǐ Fú Huì

Plot

Four older women, all Chinese immigrants living in San Francisco, meet regularly to play mah-jong, eat, and tell stories. Each of these women have adult Chinese-American daughters. The film reveals the hidden pasts of the older women and explores cultural conflict and the relationships between mothers and daughters. The film is structured as a series of vignettes told from the perspectives of the different women.

Controversy

Though the "Joy Luck Club" has been widely praised by critics and was well-received by audiences, it has also been criticized by noted Asian American author Frank Chin and other critics for allegedly perpetuating racial stereotypes. [ [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=hb-jKArjedIC&oi=fnd&pg=PA133&dq=%22Chin%22+%22Come+All+Ye+Asian+American+Writers+of+the+Real+and+the+Fake%27%22+&ots=Tt8RO6Yjry&sig=DjQdMU0-PMJiqk8894oVEx3aDhg Come All Ye Asian American Writers of the Real and the Fake] ] [ [http://www.eskimo.com/~webguy/writings/joysucks.html The Joy Luck Club] ] [ [http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.movies.reviews/msg/9455e65126606190 Review: The Joy Luck Club] ] These views however stand in stark contrast with that of Chinese-American director Wayne Wang, who was impressed with Amy Tan’s original novel and was open to bringing "The Joy Luck Club" to the big screen. [cite web | url=http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=196859&mainArticleId=196827 | title=Asian images in film spotlight - The Joy Luck Club | accessdate=03 July | accessyear=2008 | publisher=Turner Classic Movies]

Cast

*Kieu Chinh - Suyuan Woo
*Tsai Chin - Lindo Jong
*France Nuyen - Ying-Ying St. Clair
*Lisa Lu - An-Mei Hsu
*Ming-Na - Jing-Mei 'June' Woo (as Ming-Na Wen)
*Tamlyn Tomita - Waverly Jong
*Lauren Tom - Lena St. Clair
*Rosalind Chao - Rose Hsu Jordan
*Michael Paul Chan - Harold, Lena's Husband
*Andrew McCarthy - Ted Jordan
*Christopher Rich - Rich
*Russell Wong - Lin Xiao
*Vivian Wu - An-Mei's Mother
*Chao-Li Chi - Canning Woo
*Melanie Chang - June (Age 9)
*Victor Wong - Old Chong the Piano Teacher
*Lisa Connolly - Singing Girl
*Vu Mai - Waverly (Age 6-9)
*Irene Ng - Lindo (Adolescent)
*Ying Wu - Lindo (Age 4)
*Mei Juan Xi - Lindo's Mother

Crew

*Directed by: Wayne Wang
*Screenplay by: Amy Tan & Ronald Bass
*Produced by: Oliver Stone

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0107282
*rotten-tomatoes|id=joy_luck_club|title=The Joy Luck Club