This is a simple but heartwarming story of a Chinese American family who go to Beijing to visit relatives, setting up a gentle comparison of cultures. It doesn't yield any earth-shattering revelations, but it's notable for having been made in 1986, the first American film shot in the People's Republic of China, and just three years before Tiananmen Square.
Some of the best things in this film can be found in little moments that reflect such cultural truths. The neighbors all coming out to see the arrival of foreigners, which was unusual then. The Chinese mom reading her daughter's mail and asking her brother directly about his salary. The subtle embarrassment caused by American displays of affection, like the nephew hugging his Chinese aunt, or the American parents comforting each other at a family grave.
The film is also effective in dispelling stereotypes about Chinese Americans, and reflecting some of the difficulties they face. The father is passed up for a promotion for a less qualified white colleague. The mother explains to a workout partner that she doesn't actually speak Chinese, saying "Can't you tell? I'm an American." The son is not a cliché math nerd, and is shown making out with his white girlfriend - an interracial relationship that has always been less accepted, that of an Asian man and a Caucasian woman, and not the other way around. He loves football, throwing one around on the Great Wall, and taping his own face over Joe Montana's on a poster he has in his bedroom, bits I loved. He's easy-going, but voices an age-old issue for those with a duality of cultures: "People in America think I'm too Chinese, and then people in China think I'm too American." All of these things were quietly powerful, and done in ways which weren't preachy.
There are dimensions to the Chinese/American comparison director/writer/actor Peter Wang offers us, notably the older/younger generational differences from both sides, and husband/wife relationship similarities. Some seem a little obvious and I suppose they are, but through it all there is a wonderful sense of acceptance, not one of anyone being wrong or inferior. The differences in things like music, the way people exercise, or their accommodations are things to be appreciated and learned from. Despite the enormous change in this generation, with a sister and her family remaining in China while her brother and his family are in San Francisco, we see family bonds enduring, and parents wanting the best for their children.
The story is less successful than the cultural representation, meandering as it is. The big ping pong match that occurs near the end held some level of interest because it was clear both actors played the game very well, but it was odd that this was the climax to the film. It was as if Wang was searching for some plot escalation or some way to make the film more mainstream, and arrived at this. I would have much rather have seen more of the brother/sister dynamic, how it was when they parted, or more footage in Beijing. Overall though, a nice little film, and one that would fit in very nicely with the films of Wayne Wang from the 80's.
