Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)

A story set in nineteenth-century China and focusing on the life-long friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid social norms imposed on women.

Director:

Wayne Wang

Writers:

Angela Workman (screenplay), Ronald Bass (screenplay) (as Ron Bass)

Stars:

Bingbing Li, Ji-hyun Jun, Vivian Wu

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Russell Wong	...	Bank CEO
Bingbing Li	...	Nina / Lily
Archie Kao	...	Sebastian
Ji-hyun Jun	...	Snow Flower / Sophia (as Gianna Jun)
Coco Chiang	...	Anna
Hu Qing Yun	...	Mrs. Liao
Shiping Cao	...	Mr. Wei (as Shi Ping Cao)
Ruijia Zhang	...	Mrs. Wei
Vivian Wu	...	Aunt
Zhebing Gong	...	Professor
Lilia Zhou	...	Nurse
Congmeng Guo	...	Little Lily
Danping Shen	...	Lily's Mother
Yan Dai	...	Little Snow Flower
Yulan Xu	...	Snow Flower's Mother

Storyline

In 19th-century China, seven year old girls Snow Flower and Lily are matched as laotong - or "old sames" - bound together for eternity. Isolated by their families, they furtively communicate by taking turns writing in a secret language, nu shu, between the folds of a white silk fan. In a parallel story in present day Shanghai, the laotong's descendants, Nina and Sophia, struggle to maintain the intimacy of their own childhood friendship in the face of demanding careers, complicated love lives, and a relentlessly evolving Shanghai. Drawing on the lessons of the past, the two modern women must understand the story of their ancestral connection, hidden from them in the folds of the antique white silk fan, or risk losing one another forever.

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Plot Keywords:

china | fan | nineteenth century | reversal of fortune | car hitting pedestrian | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexuality, violence/disturbing images and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

China USA

Language:

English Chinese

Release Date:

24 June 2011 (China)

Also Known As:

Der Seidenfächer

Filming Locations:

Hengdian World Studios, Heng Dian, China

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$134,005 (USA) (15 July 2011)

Gross:

$1,346,503 (USA) (23 September 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

IDG China Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Zhang Ziyi was originally cast as Nina before dropping out of the film. Li Bingbing signed on to replace her.

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Goofs

The last paragraphs of the unsent letter that Nina found in Sophias apartment, which can be seen when she closes the notebook, don't match Nina's voice-over.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bank CEO: People say I'm sending Sebastian and Nina to New york so neither will take my job. Hey, perhaps that's partly true. You know, like these butterflies that surround us this evening, it's a time of transformation, new beginnings.

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Connections

Referenced in Conan: A Tree with Dutch Elm Disease Grows in Brooklyn (2011)

User Reviews

centuries apart

The current scandal surrounding Rupert Murdoch makes it all the more surprising that his wife produced Wayne Wang's "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan". But even so, it's still worth seeing. It tells the story of two friends in present-day Shanghai, and the connection that they have with two girls in 19th century China through a fan on which they wrote secret messages.

Wang famously focused on Chinese-American families in "The Joy Luck Club", and took a bittersweet look at people's lives in "Smoke". This movie doesn't equal either of those, but I still recommend it. The development of Shanghai certainly reflects the changes in the lives of the girls (and the changes that China has undergone over the past 100 years). Not great, but worth seeing.