Blu-ray Review: The Joy Luck Club

Blu-ray Reviews, Reviews

When it comes to Asians in American cinema the roles have grown over the years but unfortunately Hollywood has done such a poor job at creating new stars, period, that anyone with a background that isn’t of a certain variety has a tougher time getting a break in the newer, more “diverse” world of cinema. It’s odd that 20 years after The Joy Luck Club offered us a glimpse into the world of Asian-Americans and their unique journey into this country that opportunities for actors of Asian descent haven’t increased all that much.

The Joy Luck Club, based off the novel of the same name, follows June (Ming-Na Wen) on a trip to China. She’s the daughter of Suyuan (Kieu Chinh), part of a group of women who all Mahjong together once a week. All four women came from pre-revolutionary China and into San Francisco. The film follows the four women and their American daughters as we get to see the modern life of the Chinese-American woman juxtaposed against their mothers at the same point in China.

It’s a fairly interesting film because it touches on the universal themes of children and their immigrant parents, of their childhoods in harder circumstances and their raised expectations for their children. As we see June (and her friends) progress in their lives, and June’s discovery of her half sisters in China, we get to see their parents at the same age going through a much different life. The difference between parents who want the American dream for their children, and the children who have no understanding of the hardships they suffered, is never dull.

It’s a fascinating film because it’s a solid exploration of family dynamics. For me it was a bit more interesting because my family has been in this country not much longer than June and hers. For those of us who are the children of immigrants, or a generation or two past that, there’s plenty to be mined on a pure emotional level.

Every decade or so there manages to come a film about immigrant parents and their children; several years back The Namesake covered similar ground with Indian-American families. It’s almost a rite of passage in a way as different immigrants come to this country and have a similar experience.

There are no extras on the Blu-ray, just the film in high definition.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment presents The Joy Luck Club. Directed by Wayne Wang. Written by Amy Ran and Ronald Bass based off the novel “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan. Running time: 139 minutes. Rated R. Released: December 11, 2012. Available at Amazon.com.