The Joy Luck Club (1993)

The life histories of four Asian women and their daughters reflect and guide each other.

Director:

Wayne Wang

Writers:

Amy Tan (novel), Amy Tan (screenplay)

Stars:

Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao, Kieu Chinh

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kieu Chinh	...	Suyuan - The Mother
Tsai Chin	...	Lindo - The Mother
France Nuyen	...	Ying-Ying - The Mother
Lisa Lu	...	An-Mei - The Mother
Ming-Na Wen	...	June - The Daughter
Tamlyn Tomita	...	Waverly - The Daughter
Lauren Tom	...	Lena - The Daughter
Rosalind Chao	...	Rose - The Daughter
Chao Li Chi	...	June's Father
Melanie Chang	...	June - Age 9
Victor Wong	...	Old Chong
Lisa Connolly	...	Singing Girl
Mai Vu	...	Waverly - Age 6-9 (as Vu Mai)
Ying Wu	...	Lindo - Age 4
Meijuan Xi	...	Lindo's Mother (as Mei Juan Xi)

Storyline

Through a series of flashbacks, four young chinese women born in America and their respective mothers born in feudal China, explore their past. This search will help them understand their difficult mother/daughter relationship.

---

Plot Keywords:

chopsticks the eating utensil | mother murders own child | subtitled scene | sacrifice | farewell party | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong depiction of thematic material

Details

Country:

USA China

Language:

English Mandarin Cantonese

Release Date:

29 October 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

El club de la buena estrella

Filming Locations:

610 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$32,861,136

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the novel, it is revealed that the real name of the character played by Ming-Na Wen is Jing-Mei. On ER (1994), Ming-Na plays another character named Jing-Mei.

---

Goofs

On the road to Chungking, Suyuan leaves a letter with her daughters that is written in the Western layout: left-to-right, top-to-bottom. During World War II, the traditional Chinese layout would've been used.

---

Quotes

June's Father: She thought: better not die next to my babies. Nobody saves babies with such bad luck. Who wants two babies with ghost mother following them? Very bad luck, very.

---

Connections

Referenced in Saving Face (2004)

---

Soundtracks

Ye Lai Xiang (Scent of the Night)
(1950)
Written by Lee Lai Kwang and James Wong
Performed by Teresa Teng (uncredited)
Used by permission of EMI Music Publishing Ltd. (S.E. Asia)

User Reviews

A Hanky Fest

If you're an Asian-American woman with parental conflicts around culture then prepare to cry at this wonderfully fabulous film. So many cultural issues come up that you never know when you'll be hit with a wave of recognition. There are many laughs here as well. You just don't know when they'll arrive. This is a definite must for anyone struggling to understand how to incorporate their ethnic heritage in the massive American melting pot.