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Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, Lynn Chen, Li Zhiyu, Guanglan Shen ... see more see more... , Jessica Hecht , Ato Essandoh , David Shih , Brian Yang , Nathaniel Geng , Mao Zhao , Wang Luoyong , Clare Sum , Qian Luo , Lu Yue , Richard Chang , Saidah Arrika Ekulona , Christy Qin , Ruth Zhang , Jin Wang , Guang Lan Koh , Lee Hoon , Connie Hsia , Jackson Ning , Jamie Guan , Paul Sum , Brittany Perrineau , Xiaofeng Zang , Fang Yulin , Pamela Payton-Wright , Twinkle Burke , Tina Johnson , Phillip Meng , Chloe Tsang , Rosa Luo , Nan Meng

An Asian-American woman and her mother both find their private lives are becoming a family matter in this romantic comedy-drama. Wilhelmina Pang (Michelle Krusiec) is a surgeon living in Manhattan who... read more read more...se mother (Joan Chen) is eager for her to settle down with a nice man and get married. What Ma doesn't know is that Wilhelmina happens to be a lesbian -- or rather, Ma prefers not to acknowledge it, since she once walked in on Wilhelmina and her girlfriend several years before. As it happens, Wilhelmina is looking for someone special in her life, and thinks she may have found her in Vivian (Lynn Chen), a beautiful dancer, but a fear of commitment and a desire to keep her medical career on track is making their relationship problematic. As Wilhelmina tries to get her love life in order, her mother's shifts into crisis mode. Ma, a 48-year-old widow, has just discovered she's pregnant, and her staunchly traditional father (Li Zhiyu) will not allow her back into the home they share until she's married someone respectable. Unwilling to name the father of her baby, Ma is forced to move in with Wilhelmina, and while enduring the emotional roller coaster of pregnancy she is being pressured by friends and relatives to marry Cho (Nathaniel Geng), a sweet but boring man she doesn't especially like. Saving Face was the first feature film from writer and director Alice Wu. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

87% liked it

8,052 ratings

Critics

87% liked it

83 critics

R, 1 hr. 36 min.

Directed by: Alice Wu

Release Date: May 27, 2005

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DVD Release Date: October 18, 2005

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Stats: 800 reviews

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lynn chen Lynn Chen, Michelle Krusiec & Joan Chen Michelle Krusiec Michelle Krusiec Michelle Krusiec Michelle Kruseic Michelle Krusiec Joan Chen Joan Chen Saving Face
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Flixster Reviews (800)

  • hunterjt13
    January 16, 2012
    hunterjt13
    An American-born Chinese doctor falls into a lesbian relationship with a woman who rejects the strictures of their shared culture against the backdrop of her mother's scandalous pregnancy.
    The first act of this film is positively delightful, a Chinese version of Imagine Me and Yo... read moreu. Michelle Krusiec is a gem as Wil, full of quick wit and a reserved sexuality. Joan Chen perfectly captures the type of Chinese mom I've seen in real life, commanding yet somehow behind the times enough to make one cautious to rebel, feeling a sense of respect we automatically associate to antiquity. And Lynn Chen is the perfect leading lady to Krusiec's character.
    The film is about all the things one might expect, prejudice, modernity, and the need to rebel against the mores of the past. Obviously, these themes aren't new, but they seem fresh through writer/director Alice Wu's lens.
    The second and third acts were a little slow; it was almost as though the film had to stop to unravel itself, and the sharp, charming wit of the first act slipped away.
    Overall, Saving Face is a delightful film, and I hope to see more of Krusiec.
  • jennifxu
    December 3, 2009
    jennifxu
    Ok, so when I first heard of this, the plot sort of threw me for a loop. Chinese lesbian? 50-year-old unmarried pregnant mother? This is risky stuff! But really, it's just poor man's Ang Lee. Given the plot, Alice Wu makes it seem as low-key as possible, which I guess is kind of ... read morethe point? but doesn't make it any more interesting. It's a tolerable kind of movie.
  • dreamfaeries
    September 22, 2008
    dreamfaeries
    Pretty good movie.
  • Redlats
    November 5, 2007
    Redlats
    I liked this movie. An interconnected set of NYC people dealing with relationships, prejudice, bias and Saving Face.
  • gator681
    August 24, 2006
    gator681
    In "Saving Face", Wilhelmina(Michelle Krusiec) is a young surgeon who attends the weekly Planet China dances held in Flushing where her 48-year old divorcee mother(Joan Chen) tries to fix her up with every eligible man in attendance with no success. On this occasion, however, sh... read moree does meet somebody she likes, a beautiful ballet dancer, Vivian(Lynn Chen). But Wilhelmina is not out to any member of her close-knit family, especially her mother. That makes life especially complicated for her when after work one day, she finds her mother camped out on her porch, having been exiled from the Chinese-American community in Flushing for getting pregnant out of wedlock by a person unknown.

    "Saving Face" is an amusing romantic comedy that rises above its sitcommish plot by being very appealing throughout. It is about the generational conflict between the traditions of the first-generation immigrants and the worldliness of their children who were influenced by their American surroundings. But the movie does get rather cliche-happy right around the climax in a misguided attempt to resolve everything too neatly.
  • lesleyanorton
    March 27, 2011
    lesleyanorton
    Romantic comedy with a difference as a Chinese American widow and daughter break with tradition by getting pregnant and being gay. Nice film, I liked it.
    From OZQ's favourites list
    ... read moreface.jpg">
  • SunilJawahir
    May 15, 2011
    SunilJawahir
    I really like these two characters a lot. Very good acting and a sweet but believable little movie.
  • ileo
    December 8, 2007
    ileo
    A GREAT FILM!! LOVE IT!!
  • InaHH
    February 23, 2006
    InaHH
    I think this must be my favourite romantic comedy of all times. Its sweet, funny, quirky, has a cute couple without the "gay" part being a big issue - wonderful film that more people need to see.
  • craigdawson2001
    July 26, 2008
    craigdawson2001
    good movie!
    although I would have liked it even more if they had a little bit more character development for her girlfriend.

    about half the movie is spoken in Chinese with english subtitles. The comedy, drama, romance and, tender moments make this a beautiful movie.

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Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
February 9, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Abjectly collapses into feel-good nonsense. Full Review

Peter Howell
July 1, 2005
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Goes beyond the obvious into something a lot more current and meaningful: the need to make your own love, even if society looks askance. Full Review

Roger Moore
July 1, 2005
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Saves face with terrific performances. Full Review

Rick Groen
July 1, 2005
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

Wu has a keen ear for the rhythm of speech, and much of the humour rests in the conversations' staccato beat -- in breezy put-downs and tossed-off asides and disgruntled mutterings. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
June 24, 2005
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

[Saving Face] gets its heart pumping by putting its lovers smack in the middle of family and community. Full Review

Robert Denerstein
June 24, 2005
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

A mild but mostly enjoyable romantic comedy that attempts (not always successfully) to incorporate elements of screwball farce into an already-crowded mix.

Michael O'Sullivan
June 23, 2005
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

A laugh riot it is not. A sweet, true and, at times, universal love story it is. Full Review

Steven Rea
June 23, 2005
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

A first film with a deft comedic touch and a trio of charming stars.

Jeff Strickler
June 23, 2005
Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune

This culture-clash, generation-gap comic drama is clichéd and corny. But it's also charming. Full Review

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
June 23, 2005
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Saving Face's saving graces are its sense of humor and its strong cast. Full Review

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  • In which American film did Joan Chen get to play a single Chinese mother, spoke only Mandarin and secretly watches pornography.  Answer »
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