The Princess of Nebraska (2007)

The story of a pregnant Chinese girl's life in the U.S. Based on the the short story by Yiyun Li.

Director:

Wayne Wang

Writers:

Yiyun Li (short story), Michael Ray

Stars:

Li Ling, Brian Danforth, Minghua Tan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Li Ling	...	Sasha
Brian Danforth	...	Boshen
Minghua Tan	...	May
Zhi Hao Li	...	Driver
Hiep Thi Le	...	Mother at Mall
Djinn Ong	...	Father at Mall
Roxy Ong	...	Daughter at Mall
Finn Carlito Ong	...	Son at Mall
Jay Patumanoan	...	Security Guard
Jason W. Wong	...	Alvin (as Jason Wong)
Nanrisa Lee	...	Mary
Jacintha Charles	...	Party Guest #1
Pamelyn Chee	...	X
Patrice Binaisa	...	James
Qing Lin	...	Karaoke Woman (as Qxing Lin)

Storyline

Decisions and reality. Sasha is a young woman from Beijing, studying in Nebraska. She flies to the Bay Area and meets up with friends, including Boshen, a gay man who was the lover of Yang, a member of Beijing's Opera who got Sasha pregnant four months before. She's made an appointment at a clinic for the next day. Boshen thinks he, she, Yang, and the baby can be a family. After a contentious dinner, Sasha meets X, a call girl on her way to a party with older men. Sasha goes too. Later, Sasha asks X to travel the world with her. Reality awaits the next day. As the annual St. Stupid's Day Parade passes by, Boshen accompanies Sasha to the clinic. What will she decide?

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Plot Keywords:

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

17 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Princesa do Nebraska

Filming Locations:

Oakland, California, USA

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$191,887

Company Credits

Production Co:

Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), Entertainment Farm (EF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

One child policy meets American Exceptionalism

This is a story about lost generations on both sides of the Pacific. Some of the lost on the American side are older, because we got here first. Some of the lost more recently immigrated because as we all know, their star is rising as ours is falling.

I didn't hate this movie. I felt for the lead character, who comes across as a spoiled brat in the total absence of any real support system visible to the film audience. Her alienation & loneliness is a metaphor for the age in which we live, where we may have more friends on social media than we have in real life.

That she at least felt for the life inhabiting her body, when most of her cohort were completely indifferent, made me sympathize with her.

The individual scenes of the movie were pretty well done, I thought, but when strung together did not make for a great movie.