喜福会电影英文影评

TheJoyLuckClub,asstatedinthemovie'sopeningnarrative,isacollectionoffouragingChinesewomenboundtogethermorebyhopethanjoyorluck.Thefourwomen-Suyuan(KieuChinh),Lindo(TsaiChin),YingYing(FranceNuyen),andAnMei(LisaLu)-cametoAmericamanyyearsagotoescapeChina'sfeudalsocietyforthepromiseoftheUnitedStates'democracy.Now,however,SuyuanhasdiedandthethreesurvivingmembersoftheclubinviteherdaughterJune(Ming-NaWen)totakeherplace.Junebelongstothenewgeneration,thoseofChineseheritagewhogrewupspeakingEnglishandlearningAmericancustoms.AlsoofroughlythesameageareWaverly(TamlynTomita),Lindo'sdaughter;Lena(LaurenTom),YingYing'sdaughter;andRose(RosalindChao),AnMei'sdaughter.TheJoyLuckClubtellsofthevarieddifficultiesandtragediesinvolvedinthesemother/daughterrelationships.Co-writerRonaldBass(who,alongwithAmyTan,adaptedfromTan'snovel)saysthattherearesixteenseparatestoriesinTheJoyLuckClub.SinceIdidn'tcount,Ican'tverifythisstatement,butitsoundsaboutright.Takenasawhole,thesevignettescombinetolendgreatermeaningtothewhole.TheJoyLuckClubisthesumtotalofitspartswithcommonthemesgivingsolidgroundingandgreaterresonancetotheoverallfilm.AsBasscomments,Isawallthemothers'anddaughters'storiesasfacetsofthesameexperience.Puttogether,theyformedamosaic.That'sthegeniusofthebook,andifwecutitdowntojustacoupleofstoriesitwouldbelikeanyothermovie.Thestoriesarenotrelatedinsuchamannerastoseempareddownortruncated,noristheirpresentationconfusing,thankstoacleverly-orchestratedframingscenewiththeprincipalcharactersgatheredtogether.However,itisapparentthatalotmorecouldhavebeentold,andwe'releftwonderingaboutallthatwedidn'tgettosee.Thecharactersaremostlywell-developed,butit'stantalizingtoconsiderhowmuchfullersomeofthemcouldhavebeenwithadifferentplotstructure.TheJoyLuckClubisclearly-perhapstooclearly-anadaptationofabook.Thedialogueisoftentoopoetictobereal,andthestorytooclearlyplottedtobeacceptableasanythingmorethananimperfectreflectionoftheworldwelivein.Thelinebetweendramaandmelodramaisafineone,and,whileTheJoyLuckClubmostoftensuccessfullynavigatesthetightrope,therearetimeswhenitslipsandcomesacrossasheavy-handed.Thisfilmisnostrangertomomentsofmanipulation.ThecharactersareTheJoyLuckClub'srealstrength.Manyareplayedbymorethanoneactor(aschildrenthenadults,forexample),butalltransitionsaresmoothandseamless.It'saseasytoacceptbothalittlegirlandthebeautiful,sophisticated-lookingTamlynTomitaasWaverly,andthat'sbecausethecharacterstranscendtheperformersportrayingthem.It'sfascinatingandsatisfyingthewaythediversethreadsareknittedtogetherintoasingletapestry.TheJoyLuckClub'smessageisoneofhope--thatcatharsisandemotionalfulfillmentoftencomethroughtragedy.Sure,alotofbadthingshappenduringthecourseofthisfilm,butattheend,thetearsareofhappinessandnewbeginnings,notloss.ThankstothepopularityofactorssuchasJackieChan(RushHour2),JetLi(KissoftheDragon),ChowYun-fat(CrouchingTiger,HiddenDragon),andLucyLiu(Charlie'sAngels),seeingAsianfacesonthesilverscreenhasbecomealmostcommonplacethesedays.However,nottoolongago,AsianactorsinHollywoodwereusuallyrelegatedtoplayingunflatteringbitparts,suchasgangmembers,prostitutes,martialartsmasters,enemysoldiers,orthe'tokenoriental'.Atthattime,craftingadramawithanall-Asiancast(withaChinesedirectornoless)wasalmostinconceivable.Yetin1993,directorWayneWang(bestknownforSmokeandChineseBox)andproducerOliverStone(AnyGivenSunday)pulleditoffbybringingAmyTan'sbest-sellingnovelTheJoyLuckClubtothebigscreen.AndthoughthestoryisdeeplyentrenchedintheAsian-Americanexperience,TheJoyLuckClubendsuptranscendingallracesandcultureswithitsheartfeltexaminationofthespecialbondbetweenmothersandtheirdaughters.The'JoyLuckClub'ofthetitlereferstofourwomenwhoimmigratedfromChinatotheUnitedStateslongago:AnMei(LisaLu),YingYing(FranceNuyen),Lindo(TsaiChin,heardrecentlyinTitanA.E.),andSuyuan(KieuChinhofRiotintheStreets).Thestoryisframedbyalargeget-togetheroftheextendedfamiliesofthe'JoyLuckClub',althoughSuyuanhasrecentlypassedaway.ThereasonforthecelebrationistheimminentdepartureofSuyuan'sAmerican-borndaughterJune(Ming-NaWen,heardrecentlyinFinalFantasy:TheSpiritsWithin),whoistravelingtoChinatomeettwohalf-sistersshehasnevermet.AlsoinattendanceareLindo'sdaughterWaverly(TamlynTomita,whostarredintheBabylon5pilotepisode),YingYing'sdaughterLena(LaurenTom),andAnMei'sdaughterRose(RosalindChaoofWhatDreamsMayCome).Asthefilmunfolds,aseriesofwell-orchestratedflashbacks(sixteenintotal)tellthestoriesofthe'JoyLuckClub'andtheirAmerican-borndaughters.Thoughthesetwogenerationsgrewupindifferenttimesandplaces,theformerinalandwherewomenwerelittlemorethanchattelandthelatterinanenvironmentthatencouragedpersonalfreedomandthedeparturefromtradition,theirstruggleshavefarmoreincommonthannot.InadditiontotellinghowJune'smotherwasforcedtoleavehertwindaughtersbyaroadsideinChina,theaudiencegetsaglimpseofhowLindowasoncemarriedtoaten-yearoldspoiledbrat,theagonizingsacrificeofAnMei'smother(VivianWuofTheLastEmperor)tosafeguardabetterlifeforherdaughter,andYingYing'sactofvengeanceagainstaphilanderinghusband(RussellWongofRomeoMustDie).Alloftheirexperi