Saving Face (2004)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jim H

  
  An American-born Chinese doctor falls into a lesbian relationship with a woman who rejects the strictures of their shared culture against the backdrop of her mother's scandalous pregnancy. The first act of this film is positively delightful, a Chinese version of Imagine Me and… More
  An American-born Chinese doctor falls into a lesbian relationship with a woman who rejects the strictures of their shared culture against the backdrop of her mother's scandalous pregnancy. The first act of this film is positively delightful, a Chinese version of Imagine Me and You. Michelle Krusiec is a gem as Wil, full of quick wit and a reserved sexuality. Joan Chen perfectly captures the type of Chinese mom I've seen in real life, commanding yet somehow behind the times enough to make one cautious to rebel, feeling a sense of respect we automatically associate to antiquity. And Lynn Chen is the perfect leading lady to Krusiec's character. The film is about all the things one might expect, prejudice, modernity, and the need to rebel against the mores of the past. Obviously, these themes aren't new, but they seem fresh through writer/director Alice Wu's lens. The second and third acts were a little slow; it was almost as though the film had to stop to unravel itself, and the sharp, charming wit of the first act slipped away. Overall, Saving Face is a delightful film, and I hope to see more of Krusiec.

• Jennifer X

  
  Ok, so when I first heard of this, the plot sort of threw me for a loop. Chinese lesbian? 50-year-old unmarried pregnant mother? This is risky stuff! But really, it's just poor man's Ang Lee. Given the plot, Alice Wu makes it seem as low-key as possible, which I guess is… More
  Ok, so when I first heard of this, the plot sort of threw me for a loop. Chinese lesbian? 50-year-old unmarried pregnant mother? This is risky stuff! But really, it's just poor man's Ang Lee. Given the plot, Alice Wu makes it seem as low-key as possible, which I guess is kind of the point? but doesn't make it any more interesting. It's a tolerable kind of movie.

• Leigh R

  
  Pretty good movie.

• Red L

  
  I liked this movie. An interconnected set of NYC people dealing with relationships, prejudice, bias and Saving Face.

• Walter M

  
  In "Saving Face", Wilhelmina(Michelle Krusiec) is a young surgeon who attends the weekly Planet China dances held in Flushing where her 48-year old divorcee mother(Joan Chen) tries to fix her up with every eligible man in attendance with no success. On this occasion,… More
  In "Saving Face", Wilhelmina(Michelle Krusiec) is a young surgeon who attends the weekly Planet China dances held in Flushing where her 48-year old divorcee mother(Joan Chen) tries to fix her up with every eligible man in attendance with no success. On this occasion, however, she does meet somebody she likes, a beautiful ballet dancer, Vivian(Lynn Chen). But Wilhelmina is not out to any member of her close-knit family, especially her mother. That makes life especially complicated for her when after work one day, she finds her mother camped out on her porch, having been exiled from the Chinese-American community in Flushing for getting pregnant out of wedlock by a person unknown. "Saving Face" is an amusing romantic comedy that rises above its sitcommish plot by being very appealing throughout. It is about the generational conflict between the traditions of the first-generation immigrants and the worldliness of their children who were influenced by their American surroundings. But the movie does get rather cliche-happy right around the climax in a misguided attempt to resolve everything too neatly.

• Lesley N

  
  Romantic comedy with a difference as a Chinese American widow and daughter break with tradition by getting pregnant and being gay. Nice film, I liked it. From OZQ's favourites list <img… More
  Romantic comedy with a difference as a Chinese American widow and daughter break with tradition by getting pregnant and being gay. Nice film, I liked it. From OZQ's favourites list <img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XUBl74j_tDQ/TMk8535ZPBI/AAAAAAAAAiM/pMspnvwSC_Y/s400/saving_face.jpg">

• Sunil J

  
  I really like these two characters a lot. Very good acting and a sweet but believable little movie.

• Leo L

  
  A GREAT FILM!! LOVE IT!!

• Ina S

  
  I think this must be my favourite romantic comedy of all times. Its sweet, funny, quirky, has a cute couple without the "gay" part being a big issue - wonderful film that more people need to see.

Read all 9 featured audience ratings