Xi yan (1993)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Ang Lee

Writers:

Ang Lee (writer)
Neil Peng (writer)

Release Date:

4 August 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A little deception in the reception.

Plot:

To satisfy his nagging parents, a gay landlord and a female tenant agree to a marriage of convenience, but his parents arrive to visit and things get out of hand.

Plot Keywords:

Gay | Marriage | Manhattan | Marriage Of Convenience | Wedding

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 12 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Dion Birney	...	Andrew
Jeanne Kuo Chang	...	Wai-Tung's Secretary
Winston Chao	...	Wai-Tung Gao
Paul Chen	...	Guest
May Chin	...	Wei-Wei
Chung-Wei Chou	...	Chef
Yun Chung	...	Guest
Ho-Mean Fu	...	Guest
Michael Gaston	...	Justice of the Peace
Ah Lei Gua	...	Mrs. Gao
Jeffrey Howard	...	Street Musician
Theresa Hou	...	Female Cashier
Yung-Teh Hsu	...	Bob Law, Wai-Tung's Old Friend
Jean Hu	...	Guest
Albert Huang	...	Guest

Also Known As:

Si yan (Taiwan)
The Wedding Banquet (USA)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Taiwan | USA

Language:

Mandarin | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | South Korea:15 | Iceland:L | Singapore:R(A) (cut) | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:S | Germany:6 | Peru:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Central Motion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

This was the most financially profitable film of 1993, earning $23.6 million from a budget of $1 million. This gave it a cost-to-return ratio of 23.6, considerably higher than 1993's biggest money-maker "Jurassic Park" whose ratio was 13.8.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the small family dinner to which Simon treats the newlyweds and Wei-Tung's parents, Simon can be seen to alternately hold chopsticks, a small bowl or nothing in his left hand, depending on the camera angle.

Quotes:

Wai-Tung Gao: I don't know, we should have moved you out.
Simon: I'll survive.
Wai-Tung Gao: Not if Wei Wei keeps cooking.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kicking and Screaming (1995)

Soundtrack:

The Wedding Banquet

Ang lee's The Wedding Banquet is a great addition to gay film

The Wedding Banquet is a truly inspiring and cross-culturally challenging film. It touches on many issues/themes which have never been combined before in one movie: Taiwanese Americans vs. Chinese Americans, Asian American families, old school parents vs. younger generation(s), multi-racial couples, gay couples, gay Asian Americans, immigrants, pride, family values and love.

And… while I found the ending of this movie somewhat unrealistic (I'll let other viewers decide) I also found the film challenging and optimistic (which is where my realism takes over).

You should watch this movie if you are… Asian… gay… Asian AND gay… or simply want to learn something about another culture. You might be surprised!

Props to Ang Lee for creating a unique opportunity to look into two very distinct and different cultures at the same time: Asian American and gays in the early 90s.