Eat a Bowl of Tea (1989)

A study in culture bridging, including ... a new US-born husband, trying to work within the traditional ways, a new China-born wife, eager to join the "dream" of America, two family-minded ... See full summary »

Director:

Wayne Wang

Writers:

Louis Chu (novel), Judith Rascoe (screenplay)

Stars:

Cora Miao, Russell Wong, Victor Wong

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cora Miao	...	Mei Oi
Russell Wong	...	Ben Loy
Victor Wong	...	Wah Gay
Siu-Ming Lau	...	Lee Gong
Eric Tsang	...	Ah Song (as Eric Tsiang Chi Wai)
Sau Kei Lee	...	Bok Fat (as Lee Sau Kee)
Yuen Fat Fai	...	Letter Writer
Fan Hui	...	Ben Loy's Mother (as Hui Fun)
Lan Law	...	Aunt Gim
Yuen Yee Ng	...	Third Sister
Wu Ming Yu	...	Mei Oi's Mother
Ta Lei	...	Movie Translator (as Lui Tat)
Wai Wong	...	Chuck Ting
Philip Chan	...	Henry Wang
Yu-yung Teng	...	Fat Man (as Tang Shun Nin)

Storyline

A study in culture bridging, including ... a new US-born husband, trying to work within the traditional ways, a new China-born wife, eager to join the "dream" of America, two family-minded fathers, lots of gender-related social bifurcations.

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Plot Keywords:

china | chinese american | america | wedding | immigration | 

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Taglines:

The simple recipe for sexual survival.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

10 January 1990 (France)

Also Known As:

A szemük sem áll jól

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$231,423 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Playhouse

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Features The Lady from Shanghai (1947)

User Reviews

A Good Film From Director Wang

Ignore the picture that was used as the poster of this film, it is completely incongruous to the story. This is a film set in New York's Chinatown about a couple, one an Americanized Chinese young man (Ben Loy) who agrees to marry a young lady (Mei Oi) from a small village in China. She comes to New York and the story is the struggle of their compatibility. The movie is set in the late 1940's/early 1950's and it has a good rhythm to it. Most of it is in English, but that doesn't matter. At times you feel like a voyeur, looking in on this couple and wondering what will happen next to them. They do have their problems, and she even takes on a lover (Eric Tsang, who has a smallish but pivotal part), but the story is about the clash between Chinese traditions and their present day. While the film is good, it partly suffers from melodramatic overload. If you're interested in seeing a film about the immigrant experience, this is a good one about the Chinese one. I saw it on TCM in the wee hours of the morning. I watched it through, so that in and of itself is an endorsement.