Meditation Park (2017)

An aging woman questions her life after suspecting her husband is having an affair.

Director:

Mina Shum

Writer:

Mina Shum

Stars:

Pei-Pei Cheng, Tzi Ma, Sandra Oh

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pei-Pei Cheng	...	Maria Wang (as Cheng Pei Pei)
Tzi Ma	...	Bing Wang
Sandra Oh	...	Ava
Don McKellar	...	Gabriel
Zak Santiago	...	Jonathan
Jemmy Chen	...	Ji
Lillian Lim	...	Anita
Alannah Ong	...	May
Sharmaine Yeoh	...	Su
Liane Balaban	...	Dylan
William Budijanto	...	Max
Curtis Lum	...	Young Fishmonger
Nelson Wong	...	Peter
Robbie Segulam	...	Sammi
Hrothgar Mathews	...	Skinny Bylaw Officer (as Hrothgar Matthews)

Storyline

Approaching their senior years, married couple Maria and Bing Wang emigrated to Vancouver from Hong Kong forty years ago, they living on the working class east side of the city steps away from Hastings Park. Bing has been the family breadwinner, starting with menial jobs after arriving in Canada despite his educated background, eventually being able to open his own small accounting firm in Chinatown where he keeps long hours in working for and schmoozing with clients. Meanwhile, Maria has been housewife and mother, dedicating herself solely to the family. With their daughter Ava now married with her own young family, and Bing being estranged from their son Charlie for ten years, Charlie who Bing will not allow Maria to keep in touch with despite Charlie living on nearby Bowen Island, Maria now feels like her only purpose in life is to take care of Bing. In addition, Maria is completely dependent on Bing as she still feels uncomfortable speaking English instead of their native ...

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English Cantonese

Release Date:

9 March 2018 (Canada)

Filming Locations:

Chinatown, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Meditation Park Film Ltd.,Side Street Post

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Features Dragnet (1951)

---

Soundtracks

Revolution
Written by Saidah Baba Talibah, Benjamin Pinkerton & Marco DiFelice (as Marco Difelice)
Performed by Saidah Baba Talibah

User Reviews

Looking back at the immigrant experience.

There are stories about new immigrants, but this is a story maybe 40 years later, when the family has expanded to 3 generations, and relationships have gotten complicated. There is still. however, the conflict between old-world values and new-world ones. This is a satisfying look at one possible family situation. Bing has sacrificed his life to his family, immigrating from Hong Kong to Canada, and initially taking any job available. His wife Maria is stuck between home, the Chinatown market, and the recreation centre, given her limited English, inability to drive, and Bing's pride. After the family celebration of Bing's 65th birthday, he runs off, and next morning Maria finds women's underwear in his pants pocket. This leads Maria to finally try to build her independence, earn some money, and track down the "other woman". There are subplots that involve their daughter, son, and neighbors. The subplots show how controlling Bing tries to be, and how much he needs to save face, even if he has behavior that cannot be exposed. There are some minor problems, like Maria learning to ride a bike, and occasionally with the subtitles simplifying what is said. A reasonable amount of the dialogue is in Cantonese, with a little Mandarin thrown in. The acting by the principals is good, the setting is natural, and the technical aspects serve the story without drawing attention.