Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)

Director:

Wayne Wang

Writers (WGA):

Angela Workman (screenplay) and
Ronald Bass (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

2011 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

A story set in 19th century China and centered on the lifelong friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women.

Plot Keywords:

China | Fan | Parallel Time | Car Hitting Pedestrian | Female Friendship

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Russell Wong	...	Bank CEO
Bingbing Li	...	Nina / Lily
Archie Kao	...	Sebastian
Gianna Jun	...	Snow Flower / Sophia
Coco Chiang	...	Anna
Hu Qing Yun	...	Mrs. Liao
Shi Ping Cao	...	Mr. Wei
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
Shiming Wang	...	Foot Binder
Shouqin Xu	...	Lily's Father
Ying Tang	...	Madame Wang
Chen Tao	...	Da Lang
Feihu Sun	...	Master Lu
Zhong Lü	...	Lady Lu
Mian Mian	...	Claire
Yi-Ching Lu	...	Yong Gang
Zhoubo Fang	...	Mr. Liao
Xiao Hu Ding	...	TV News Anchor
Li Qiang	...	Gao Kao Official
Wu Jiang	...	Butcher
Li Qiu Zhang	...	Butcher's Mother
Hugh Jackman	...	Arthur
Andy Gao	...	Bartender
Ying Lin	...	Lotus
Li Hui Xia	...	Cousin Yan's Mother
Pei Jin	...	Landlady
Fan Hua Meng	...	Bathhouse Clerk
Rongyi Qu	...	Spring Moon (15 years old)
Yancen Zhou	...	Lily / Nina Double
Nv Long	...	Snow Flower / Sophia Double
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Christina Y. Jun	...	Sophie (voice)

Directed by
Wayne Wang

Writing credits (WGA)
Angela Workman		(screenplay) and
Ronald Bass		(screenplay) (as Ron Bass) and
Michael Ray		(screenplay) (as Michael K. Ray)
Lisa See		(novel)

Produced by
Jessinta Liu	....	co-producer
Andrew Loo	....	co-producer
Wendi Murdoch	....	producer
Ted Perkins	....	associate producer
Craig Shilowich	....	line producer: New York
Hugo Shong	....	executive producer
Florence Sloan	....	producer

Original Music by
Rachel Portman

Cinematography by
Richard Wong

Film Editing by
Deirdre Slevin

Production Design by
Lim Chung Man

Art Direction by
Molly Page

Makeup Department
Rondi Scott	....	makeup artist: New York

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Andrew Loo	....	second unit director
Fei Wong	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Shaun Brennan	....	foley artist
Rusty Dunn	....	sound effects editor (sound designer)
Lewis Goldstein	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lewis Goldstein	....	supervising sound editor
Cate Montana	....	supervising adr editor
Chris Quilty	....	production sound mixer
Jac Rubenstein	....	dialogue editor
Tom Ryan	....	foley/adr mixer
Wen Hsuan Tseng	....	apprentice sound editor
John Soukup	....	sound transfer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Joseph DiValerio	....	visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department
James Daly	....	assistant camera
Matthew Jacobs	....	key grip: New York
Louis Jong	....	key grip
Peter Milmoe	....	best boy electric: New York
Ryan Minelli	....	gaffer: New York
G.T. Womack	....	first assistant camera: New York

Editorial Department
Erin Crackel	....	associate editor
Molle DeBartolo	....	digital intermediate project manager
Adam Fox Forrest	....	promo editor
Matt Garner	....	post-production consultant
Joe Gawler	....	additional colorist
Ji Zhao	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jeff Atmajian	....	orchestrator
Chris Cozens	....	auricle control systems
Yann McCullough	....	music editor
Jeremy Murphy	....	protools engineer
Joe Rudge	....	music supervisor
Jehan Stefan	....	assistant to orchestrator
Karen Westropp	....	assistant to composer
Youki Yamamoto	....	composer: song
Youki Yamamoto	....	music associate

Other crew
Yi Song 'Scarlet' Chen	....	script supervisor
Carol A. Compton	....	script clearance
David Magdael	....	publicist

Production Companies

• IDG China Media (produced by)

Distributors

• 20th Century Fox (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Pictures (2011) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Senator Filmverleih (2012) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2013) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Fox Searchlight Pictures (2011) (USA) (all media)
• Pinnacle Films (2011) (Australia) (all media)
• Senator Home Entertainment (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Other Companies

• Apollo Productions / AAR Digital  advertising and promotions
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• IndieClear  script clearance
• Intelligent Media  international monitoring agency
• Loeb & Loeb  legal service
• SIM Digital / Bling Digital  post-production facilities
• Sony Classical  soundtrack

Also Known As:

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

104 min | USA:120 min

Country:

China | USA

Language:

English | Chinese

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | Datasat

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #46577) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Singapore:NC-16 | Germany:6 (f)

Filming Locations:

Hengdian World Studios, Heng Dian, China

Company:

IDG China Media

Trivia:

Rupert Murdoch personally asked Fox Searchlight to release this film in North America.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Conan: A Tree with Dutch Elm Disease Grows in Brooklyn (#1.163)" (2011)

Beautiful to watch but slightly tedious

This is a well cast and nicely filmed but uneven movie. The 2 leads Li Bing Bing and Gianna Jun are lovely in different ways. Only Asian actresses could play the same characters as teens and in their 30s convincingly.

The story concerns two pairs of best girl friends, one set in present day and one pair set in the mid 1800s in China. The modern story is a bit less interesting than the modern one. The 1800s story has bound feet (ouch), civil war and rural poverty. The modern story is about career and love with a foreigner (an unintentionally hilarious Hugh Jackman - that song!).

The changes between the 2 stories are a bit too frequent. It isn't confusing about who is who but it just breaks up and jumbles the narrative a little too much.

The movie is a bit long and maudlin. With too many lingering sad looks. Feel like shouting Hurry Up sometimes! That is the old fashioned Chinese soap opera part of it.

Overall worth one watch.