Short Summer Movie Reviews, Part Une

My first review of the summer is of The Joy Luck Club, directed by Oliver Stone and based on the book by Amy Tan. Without giving away too much of the film, I will say that this story of the relationships between four young Asian women and their mothers is structured very well in terms of conveying the themes of subservience in marriage and love. The four actresses who play the four middle-aged women are especially talented in their abilities to subtly but powerfully portray the trials and tribulations of these women both as wives and as mothers. I highly recommend The Joy Luck Club. The use of parallel structure to convey both the similarities and differences between the lives of the mothers and their daughters is quite effective. I wish the DVD had special features though! ***1/2


One of many stunning scenes in Oliver Stone's The Joy Luck Club