The Joy Luck Club (1993)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Wayne Wang

Writers (WGA):

Amy Tan (novel)
Amy Tan (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 November 1993 (Argentina)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

The life histories of four Asian women and their daughters reflect and guide each other.

Plot Keywords:

China | Flashback | Child Abuse | Female Bonding | Chopstick

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

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
Chao Li Chi	...	Canning Woo
Melanie Chang	...	June (Age 9)
Victor Wong	...	Old Chong the Piano Teacher
Lisa Connolly	...	Singing Girl
Mai Vu	...	Waverly (Age 6-9)
Ying Wu	...	Lindo (Age 4)
Meijuan Xi	...	Lindo's Mother

MPAA:

Rated R for strong depiction of thematic material.

Runtime:

139 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin | Cantonese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-14 | Peru:14 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #32643) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

China

Company:

Hollywood Pictures

Trivia:

Towards the end of the movie, June can be seen showing an elderly couple out after the party. She bids farewell to them using their names, Daisy and T.C. Daisy is the American name of Amy Tan's (the author) mother and T.C. was the name of her mother's partner.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Thunder and lightning can't occur simultaneously unless you are extremely close to the strike.

Quotes:

Jing-Mei 'June' Woo: [opening naration] The old woman remembered a swan she had bought many years ago in Shanghai for a foolish sum. "This bird", boasted the market vendor, "was once a duck that stretched its neck in hopes of becoming a goose. And now look, it is too beautiful to eat!" Then the woman and the swan sailed across an ocean many thousands of lei wide...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Radar Secret Service (#6.20)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Flute and Harp Concerto in C, K.299

Glorious Film making

Every time I look back at movies through the years, I find myself wondering why The Joy Luck Club did not make a huge splash in the awards circle. The film is one of the BEST FILMS of my lifetime. It will always represent to me, the dream that is America.

I think it's because the emotions of the film are so universal, that I count it as one of my favorites. I am male, I am hispanic, I came to the United States when I was 13 years old. I felt alienated, lonely and hopeless, could anyone really understand all that I wanted to do, all that I wanted to become. How do you reconcile your cultural roots, with wanting to fit into the American Dream.

I try to watch The JOY LUCK CLUB as often as I try to read the book. Because it reminds me that we are all connected in so many ways. That our dreams and desires are not all together different. that Love reaches beyond race, beyond politics and beyond time.

when I saw this film I thought, The Academy of Arts and Sciences would gush over it. But it never reached the kind of acclaim it truly deserved. I think it's because most film makers field of personal experience limited in reaching and feeling. Most of the Academy comes from back grounds that didn't see struggle, that doesn't see the world in unison, but in carefully separated categories. This to them was not a human experience film, it was a film for a minority group. But, while The JOY LUCK CLUB is life affirming to some, to those who have lived the similarities, it is life changing.