SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Micransix Crappy film

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Paul Magne Haakonsen This American-Chinese movie came to be a most pleasant surprise. I had not even heard of it prior to finding it at the local secondhand DVD store. And at a price of about $2, it turned out to be quite well spent money. I picked it up because I do like Asian movies quite a lot, although I didn't know this was an American production.What makes this movie such an enjoyable movie was its beautiful story that deals with some very good topics. It is a story of traditions to culture and family, but it is at the same time the story of breaking with traditions. But "Saving Face" is also the story of the love and bond between family members. As if this wasn't enough, it is also the story about finding your sexuality and coming out in the public with your true self.All in all, the complexity with the different and many aspects and layers were so nicely tied together by director Alice Wu. And a big salute and applause to her accomplishments with "Saving Face".But it wasn't just the storyline and the director's skills that made "Saving Face" such a memorable movie. The acting talents truly were an equally big reason. I knew that Joan Chen wouldn't disappoint, but wow, she was nothing short of phenomenal in this movie. I wasn't particularly familiar with the rest of the cast, but Michelle Krusiec was amazingly talented and carried the lead role wonderfully."Saving Face" is a very beautiful romantic drama, and it is well worth watching if you are not already familiar with it. I was genuinely entertained and pleasantly surprised by it.

sloan2-1 Bravo Sony Pictures for having the chutzpah to create this enjoyable little gem. Yes, there are flaws in the flow of the story and some of the character interactions feel cartoony, but this is an important film that explores the experiences of individuals struggling to live their own lives and be accepted by their culture. There have been a few films focusing on the experience of being homosexual in Asian American communities in the past, but this film breathed life into the topic. Like Hwei-Lan's soap operas, Saving Face reflects the absurd truths of passion, love and social expectations in giant arcs of drama, though the film is far more subtle and serious beneath its bubbly veneer.I do think that Alice Wu probably underemphasized the repercussions that individuals face when stepping outside of the boundaries of social acceptance, but too much negativity would have set the story off balance.All in all, this film has certainly made me much more a fan of Joan Chen, Michelle Krusiec, Lynne Chen and Alice Wu.

pmcnulty81 This is the first comment which I have scripted so please be forgiving in your critique.I watched this movie for the first time last night and have to say that I am definitely going to add it to my DVD collection. Although it is 3 years old and does require you to read subtitles in part, it is one of the most moving, humorous, emotional and heartwarming movies I watched in a long time. The script and concept are particularly original within the ethnic climate in which the movie is set, and provides a particularly clear and incisive insight into American/Chinese society.In fact it illustrates that although there are cultural differences within all ethnic groups the overall way in which various social and ethical issues are dealt with is not really so different. The same movie could have been made about an Italian/American/Spanish or any other nationality family, within reason, and the overall responses and outcome would have been the same. The overall feel of the movie somehow had an element of truth, and leads me to wonder if this wasn't a portrayal of the script writers own experiences, if this is the case it only makes the movie more watchable and poignant. A great movie all round.

oliver-123 I liked just about everything about this. The characters, and the clash of expectations between older and younger generations of Chinese Americans, seemed completely true to life, and the sense of a community was well brought out. It is amazing that this is the director's first film (but she is older than she looks in the Behind the Scenes featurette). Particular pleasures were the grandmother's evident boredom with her husband's pomposities, Vivian's fumbling with Chinese, which she evidently didn't speak normally despite her background, the scene in the church, and the payoff. It's not entirely clear how old Wil is meant to be (given her mother's age, hardly out of her twenties, which seems young for the responsible position she seems to have in the hospital), and it was not made at all clear how Wil's mother had got into some kind of affair with Little Yu that went far enough for her to become pregnant. But overall, tremendous.