The Joy Luck Club

Great storyline! Bit of a tear jerker towards the end though.

Whenever I want go cry and be reminded of how much I miss my mom, all that nagging, all that shaming, all that delicious food that was so tenderly and gingerly made by my tiger of a mom. This movie pretty much offers emotional touchstones for the Chinese immigrant that has yet to grieve properly for crossing the seas into a foreign land and try to acclimate American culture many of which are counter points to what the Chinese (at least my parents) imbued in me. There’s only one part in the very end that annoys me; other than that, description of the challenges of a Chinese immigrant trying to calculate to American culture is spot on.If you’re considering or already dating someone of Chinese descent and more traditional than not, totally worth watching. Wink wink…

My favorite movie.

Co-written by Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club brings what constitutes one of the finest Chinese novels to the big screen, delivering to audiences a finely crafted drama full of poignant and memorable moments in the vein of modern classics.The story comprises of a vignette of four Chinese women whose parents derive from their motherland, People's Republic of China, and is primarily told from the standpoint of the heroine, whose mother made the tireless journey from China to the United States because she wanted the feathers of the ugly duckling to transform into that of a swan before the eyes of appreciating people who will accept women from their true worth unlike the sexist men they faced in the People's Republic.Basically, for two of the vignettes, the story comprises of a competition beginning from childhood of two women, whose parents encouraged them - one into the pursuit of becoming the chess champion of the world, and the other into becoming the greatest piano player known to man despite the fact that she had no musical talent. One of them, remains single, while the other is married to a Caucasian who finds it difficult to find acceptance in her family, making a fool of himself through his ignorance of Chinese attitudes and practices, bumbling along in his first dinner with her family prior to their marriage. (The supporting actress who plays this character is the most gorgeous Japanese woman you will ever lay eyes on and the most exquisite woman on earth)The other two vignettes revolve around two women, one married to a Caucasian, who initially worshiped the ground upon which she tread despite the fact that she was discriminated against by his parents who considered her to be of too lowly a class to be wed to their son, and the other married to an overly materialistic Chinese man who would calculate to the last penny everything they spend together to be split equally among them as husband and wife - taking the idea of gender equality to the extreme.All of these are interspersed with flashbacks of their parent's history in the People's Republic, as they struggled against the sexism that existed throughout the world prior to the bra-burning era that spawned the feminist movement.This, then, constitutes the basic theme of the movie: women struggling against sexist attitudes, struggling for independence against overbearing husbands, against polygamous husbands who show preferential treatment for certain wives while treating other as sexual objects, struggling against ill treatment from their husbands and, in general, struggling to break free of their social constraints like an ugly duckling transforming into a beautiful swan the way women were meant to be.Without a doubt an Oliver Stone classic that will go down in history as one of the finest Chinese dramas ever made.

The movie gives a glimpse into the lives of three immigrant Asian women and their American born daughters. Certain information about the lives of the mothers before they came to America is given. The movie centers on the evolving relationships of the mothers and their American daughters and includes some glimpses into Asian, particularly mainland Chinese, culture. This is the point where the danger begins.It’s too easy to think that the movie’s events only occur in Asia, or because of Asian/Chinese beliefs and practices. (Viet Nam is mentioned once in the story)I’ve witnessed these same scenes being played in my growing-up West Virginia coal mining village inhabited by immigrants from Eastern Europe and most recently, in middle-class and inner city American communities.For example, I’ve seen unmarried daughters being forced from family homes when they become pregnant. I’ve observed children, especially daughters, being left as prey for human predators. I know American mothers who’ve sold their children to adult men knowing full well that these children would be sexually abused. I see little difference in the first, second, third, etc wife Chinese practice and the serial monogamy sanctified by divorce that is practiced by many Americans, nor do I see a difference between this Chinese practice and the Islam/Mormon practice of having more than one wife at a time.One of the strongest events of the movie takes place in China: a Chinese mother of one of the women who comes to America leaves that woman when she was a young child with the mother’s Chinese family. The Chinese mother becomes Third Wife to a wealthy Chinese man, and then returns and takes her daughter from the family home to the home where she is Third Wife. The First Wife welcomes the daughter by giving the daughter a string of pearls. When Third Wife and daughter are alone, Third Wife takes the pearls and smashes them proving them to be fakes. While doing this, Third Wife makes the statement that First Wife will not buy her daughter so cheaply. I couldn’t help but wonder: how many of us have sold ourselves for cheap, imitations of the prize we really seek and deserve.The movie is about abuse, betrayal and power. The immigrant Asian mothers give one solution to end hurt: one must know what they are worth and demand that worth; one must know who they are and demand respect; and one must know and demand the best quality. According to the immigrant Asian mothers, it is from this knowing that power comes and abuse ends.

I've always enjoyed this movie and recently read an article where they reported on the backlash on the film: that the Asian community didn't like it--for various reasons, none of which I thought much of. I tried finding it streaming, but all the services were charging for it--if I'm going to pay for it, I want a permanent copy!There aren't much in terms of extras, but the film is so great: as I did with the previous viewings, I cried at the end. The transfer is nice and the quality is great--plus, it's a fantastic film.