Joy Luck Club (1993)

"...gives refreshing--and bittersweet--dimension to the age-old clash between generations.  Desson Howe, Washington Post
"An extraordinary film!  Good Morning America
"Powerful, relevant and moving.  VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever

Editor's Note After the successful independent features about Chinese-American life DIM SUM and EAT A BOWL OF TEA, director Wayne Wang took on the daunting task of adapting Amy Tan's sprawling, multigenerational best-seller THE JOY LUCK CLUB. After her mother's death, June (Ming-Na Wen) is asked to take her place in a mahjong club. The three other members, like her mother, were all born in China before the 1949 revolution. When June learns that she has two half sisters in China, she plans a trip to meet them. With this catalyst, the women begin to tell stories, not just about but their own mothers and their lives in China, but also about their often strained relationships with their Americanized daughters. The flashbacks to China are dramatic, and the stories are heartbreaking. As the film progresses, June learns about a culture that's supposedly her own but that she can touch only through the commonality of the mother-daughter bond. It is this nexus that makes the movie work. There are multiple points of view, but they are always connected by the universal desire for one generation of women to pass on their hopes for a better life to their daughters. This feeling, without being cloying or overly sentimental, underlines the emotional tales in this moving, well-acted, and beautifully staged drama.

	Andrew McCarthy
	France Nuyen
	Jack Ford
	Kieu Chinh
	Lisa Lu
	Ming-Na
	Tamlyn Tomita
	Tsai Chin
	Amy Tan - Based On Novel By
	Wayne Wang - Director
	Amir Mokri - Director of Photography
	Maysie Hoy - Editor
	Oliver Stone - Executive Producer
	Janet Yang - Executive Producer
	Rachel Portman - Musical Score
	Amy Tan - Producer
	Patrick Markey - Producer
	Wayne Wang - Producer
	Ronald Bass - Producer
	Amy Tan - Screenplay
	Ronald Bass - Screenplay

In THE JOY LUCK CLUB, based on the novel by Amy Tan, generational and cultural conflicts between a small group of traditional Chinese immigrant women and their more liberated Chinese-American daughters abound at a farewell party. The gathering provides an occasion for the older women to tell their stories of personal tragedy and sacrifice, while both generations attempt to reach reconciliation. New York Times
"...Both sweeping and intimate, a lovely evocation of changing cultures and enduring family ties....The film is virtually stolen by Tsai Chin as the sly, acerbic Auntie Lindo..." 09/08/1993 p.C15

Premiere
"...Often moving..." - Recommended 04/01/1994 p.142

Sight and Sound
"...A rich, multi-course movie..." 04/01/1994 p.44-5

Variety
"...Beautifully made and acted and emotionally moving....Visually, [the] film is splendid..." 09/13/1993

Chicago Sun-Times
"...In a screenplay remarkable for its complexity and force, THE JOY LUCK CLUB moves effortlessly between past and present, between what was, and how it became what is....One of the most touching and moving of the year's films..." 09/17/1993 p.48

Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
...In a screenplay remarkable for its complexity and force, The Joy Luck Club moves effortlessly between past and present, between what was, and how it became what is. Many different actresses are used to play the daughters and mothers at different ages, and there are many stories, but the movie proceeds with perfect clarity... The movie is a celebration, too, of the richness of Asian-American acting talent... It is also one of the most touching and moving of the year's films. - Roger Ebert