Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart (1985)

In San Francisco, an immigrant Chinese widow welcomes the new year with some unhappiness: she's 62 now, she wants to make a trip to China to pay last respects to her ancestors, a fortune ... See full summary »

Director:

Wayne Wang

Writer:

Terrel Seltzer

Stars:

Laureen Chew, Kim Chew, Victor Wong

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Laureen Chew	...	Geraldine Tam
Kim Chew	...	Mrs. Tam
Victor Wong	...	Uncle Tam
Ida F.O. Chung	...	Auntie May
Cora Miao	...	Julia
John Nishio	...	Richard
Amy Hill	...	Amy Tam
Keith Choy	...	Kevin Tam
Mary Chew	...	Old m.j. player
Nora Lee	...	Old m.j. player
Joan Chen	...	Young m.j. player
Rita Yee	...	Young m.j. player
George Woo	...	Bar patron
Elsa Cruz Pearson	...	Eliza
Helen Chew	...	Linda Tam

Storyline

In San Francisco, an immigrant Chinese widow welcomes the new year with some unhappiness: she's 62 now, she wants to make a trip to China to pay last respects to her ancestors, a fortune teller has told her this is the year she'll die, and a daughter, Geraldine, remains unmarried. Geraldine does have a boyfriend, but she's not sure she's ready for marriage, and, anyway, he lives in Los Angeles and Geraldine doesn't want to leave her mother alone in her declining years. Mrs. Tan's cheerful brother-in-law tries to help out. Is there any solution that will enable Mrs. Tan to hold onto her culturally-influenced and deep-seated hopes, yet keep those hopes from suffocating Geraldine?

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Plot Keywords:

chinese american | asian american | independent film | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 August 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dim Sum - Etwas fürs Herz

Filming Locations:

Chinatown, San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

CIM, Project A Partnership

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mark Dacascos filmed a scene with Joan Chen but the scene was deleted.

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Alternate Versions

PBS edited 2 minutes from this film for its 1987 network television premiere.

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Connections

Featured in The Slanted Screen (2006)

User Reviews

Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart is Wayne Wang's slice of life of Chinese widow and her American-raised grown daughter

Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart is basically the touching story of a Chinese immigrant widow who becomes sad because she's told by a fortune teller that she would soon die, so she constantly reminds her last single daughter to marry and resolves to visit her homeland one last time. Kim Chew is the widow and her real-life daughter Laureen is the one who feels pressured to tie the knot. They both give good, wonderfully nuanced performances along with Victor Wong as the uncle who wants to marry Kim. Look for Amy Hill, who I remember as the Grandma in "All-American Girl", as one of the other married daughters and Joan Chen as one of the young mah-jong players. Director Wayne Wang provides exquisite Chinese-American atmosphere in the Chinatown setting of California. Plenty of subtle humorous touches throughout. Nothing more to say except if you want to experience the Chinese-American way of life on film, Dim Sum is as good a place to start as any.