I am a sucker for free books and regret paying money for bad reads. Saving face premieres on hbo on thursday, march 8, at 5. It was the first ho llywood movie that centered on chineseamericans since the joy luck club 1993 the name itself is a reference to the paneast asian social concept. The profound contradiction of saving private ryan the. However, in saving face, the film and the filmmaker offers little history and analysis because this is the kind of mediocrity we are famous for. By nasrullah mambrol on april 14, 2017 1 theoretical approaches to the cinematic representation of lesbianism represent a particularly complex and fruitful area of feminist film study, as well as one filled with substantial debate.
Junges film saving face won the 2011 oscar for best documentary short. Saving face signifies a desireor defines a strategyto avoid humiliation or embarrassment, to maintain dignity or preserve reputation. Save face definition is to avoid having other people lose respect for oneself. The film won an emmy award and the 2012 academy award for best documentary short subject, making its director, sharmeen obaidchinoy, pakistans first oscar winner. Michael soliman spcom 100 22567771 saving face film analysis after watching this film in class, it was an eye opener to see and experience how different cultures accept certain relationships and how conflicts can arise when people arent on the same page. Jun 24, 2005 saving face is a funny film by written and directed by first time director. Saving face is preserving ones social status after a failure, mistake or disagreement. People who are involved in a conflict and secretly know they are wrong will often not admit that they are wrong. The profound contradiction of saving private ryan steven spielbergs dday epic is a brutal, unpatriotic portrait of warexcept for the notoriously sappy prologue and. Wils life is shaken up when her mother moves in with her and it is also revealed that wils mother is pregnant by an unknown father. Saving face script transcript from the screenplay andor. Save face definition of save face by merriamwebster.
As someone who rarely gets to see themselves represented in films, saving face gave me hope and made me feel like my identities mattered. The similar name of alice wus film saving face might make one think its more of the same, but the subject matter is given a decidedly different spin, firstly by setting the story within the. Wils mom transforms the local chinatown disapproval on her and wils romance in about 3 months so much that wil and vivian can kiss in public though there still. Institute of peace following a screening and discussion of the film saving face on may 22, 2012. Around 40% of the film is in mandarin easy evangelism.
Wil michelle krusiec this week at the 2005 sundance film festival, audiences were witness to a small but critical step forward in american cinema. An analysis of american chinese movie saving face by. After the immediate experience begins to fade, the. Finally, the saving face script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the michelle krusiec and joan chen movie. Will and ma had been keeping a secret from their family making it hard for them to come to terms with themselves and connect with others. Spielberg knows how to make audiences weep better than any director since chaplin in city lights. The film saving face is about representing one selfs identity. The film was inspired from the life of acid victim fakhra younus, who committed suicide in 2012. She tries to set up her daughter at these chinese dances that happen once a week but the daughter is not interested. Issues arise, for instance, concerning the exact definition of a lesbian. A friend of mine noted that the subject of the film was never mentioned on the academy awards broadcast. Loved reading saving face, best compliment i can give a book is that i read it in one day and that i dont regret buying it. Saving face is available from online services such as amazon video. Juggling her chinese clan, gay lover, pregnant mom the new.
Saving face was the first feature film from writer and director alice wu. Since that time, junge has directed over a dozen feature and short films which have broadcast on hbo, bbc, pbs and over 50 other networks. Because saving face is such a strong motivating force in china, its also one of the most important concepts in understanding the chinese mind. The profound contradiction of saving private ryan the atlantic. Nov 20, 2016 saving face is preserving ones social status after a failure, mistake or disagreement.
Of all the idiosyncrasies of chinese culture, the concept of face is perhaps most difficult for westerns to fully grasp. Saving fac e is a 2004 american romanti c comedy drama fi lm directed by alice wu, her feature length debut. Teams of surgeons and psychiatrists will travel from the u. I wouldnt label it as an asian movie or lesbian movie. During the film the characters started to rebel and become an outcast to the chinese culture because the mother did not allow her daughter. Saving face 2004 alice wu synopsis, characteristics. Saving face and losing face affect decisions and daily life in asia.
During writerdirector alice wus 2004 romantic comedy saving face one of the main women characters goes into a video store and looks at the chinese shelf of dvds. To help her mom save face and avoid the taboo in the chinese community of an unmarried woman pregnant, the doctor helps her mom find mr. Jun 05, 2014 the profound contradiction of saving private ryan steven spielbergs dday epic is a brutal, unpatriotic portrait of warexcept for the notoriously sappy prologue and epilogue. In spite of east asians making up an increasing part of the international film market and american films increasing reliance on the rest of the world to make money at the. Cultures clash in this film that explores culture shock. An analysis of american chinese movie saving face by using.
But in alice wus amiable romantic comedy, saving face, which examines the lives of three generations of chineseamericans living in new york, it is. The codirectors of saving face, sharmeen obaid chinoy and daniel junge, shared the oscar, and chinoy is the first pakistani to ever win one. Analysis of the film saving face, hwei lan gao or ma 1662 words 7 pages. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay andor viewings of saving face. Out lesbian director alice wus first feature film, saving face is about the relationship between 28yearold closeted lesbian surgeon wilhelmina wil pang michelle krusiec and her mother ma joan chen, a 48yearold widow who only speaks mandarin and socializes solely with other members of the chinese american community in flushing, new york.
If you enjoy the film, check out our facebook page at. E una dottoressa di 28 anni che vive a manhattan senza una vera vita sociale. James gilmore chronicles the story of matt kern, whose adolescence took an abrupt turn for the worse in 1988 after an attempted theft escalated to murder, leaving him to grow into manhood from. This is your chance to share your innermost thoughts on saving face. Saving face is a funny film by written and directed by first time director. An analysis of american chinese movie saving face by using face negotiation theory. Against this backdrop, wil and vivians romance becomes secondary to wil and mas relationship. A person may attempt to save their own face and people in a group may help them.
The cult of face in china what it is and how to deal. Saving face is one of the few films focused on queer people of color and their families. A chineseamerican surgeon, living in manhattan, is shocked when her single mother shows up on her doorstep pregnant. However, between it all, motifs were seen throughout the whole movie expressing thoughts, feelings and presence.
The central motif in the film saving face is transportation, which is centralized with face and time because they explain the characters change. Saving face film analysis michael soliman spcom 100. May 27, 2005 but in alice wus amiable romantic comedy, saving face, which examines the lives of three generations of chineseamericans living in new york, it is a love affair between two young, attractive. Wil also gets a new love in her life with another chineseamerican girl vivian. Alternatively, members of a group may attempt to embarrass or humiliate someone who has made a mistake, causing them to lose face. The movie weaved mandarin seamlessly throughout the script, which i enjoyed greatly. The central motif in the film saving face is transportation, which is centralized with face and time because they explain the characters change of identity. Saving face is a 2012 documentary film directed by sharmeen obaidchinoy and daniel junge about acid attacks on women in pakistan.
Jan 27, 2005 wil michelle krusiec this week at the 2005 sundance film festival, audiences were witness to a small but critical step forward in american cinema. Jan 10, 2020 of all the idiosyncrasies of chinese culture, the concept of face is perhaps most difficult for westerns to fully grasp. Feb 22, 2016 saving face, clip for conversation analysis. His first documentary feature, chiefs, won best documentary at the tribeca film festival and broadcast on pbs. Saving face, a documentary about the true cost of the deliberate disfigurement of women in pakistan, attracted worldwide attention, and not just for lifting the veil on a hitherto littleknown world. Having those two elements together might seem like a modest achievement, but pariah is one of the only recent films that also includes both.
It is about a widow joan chen who is in her late40s and has a daughter who is a surgeon. But weeping is an incomplete response, letting the audience off the hook. This film follows wilhelmina pang michelle krusiec, known by friends and family as wil, a chinese american lesbian who works as a surgeon. Saving face revolves around the 29 year old chineseamerican surgeon wilhelmina. I know, i know, i still need to get the cast names in there and ill be eternally tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to drop me a line. Saving face premiered at the toronto international film festival on 12 september 2004, and made its way around the independent film circuit, screening at sundance film festival, seattle international film festival et al before going into a very limited release in the us on 27 may 2005. There are three motifs that allow this transformation. The film follows wilhelma and her mother, who both transgress from the romantic and sexual standards imposed by their family in the tight knit asian american community in flushing, new york. Saving hope cz 4x12 maggie and syndey with kiss nr. Saving face and group identity iza institute of labor. You can include an image to complement your analysis.
Mar 24, 2015 saving face, which focuses on three chinese american women all of whom are also played by chinese american actresses, came during what was, especially compared to more recent releases, a wave of films centered on people of color and their immigrant families bend it like beckham, the namesake along with some romcom fluff which featured. Saving face on the face of it saving face shows women in pakistan are moving ahead and fighting for justice in a maledominated society. Saving face 2004 is a romantic comedy drama written and directed by alice wu. When wils mom browses chinese films, the first video she comes across is the last emperor bilingual dialogue. Face auditions for a role in david mamets highly regarded play. The cult of face in china what it is and how to deal with. Saving face was a romantic comedy unveiling the truth about how characters identity can cause personal and cultural conflicts. Saving face is at once an acknowledgment of ritual and collective identity, a selfreinvention, a reclaiming of roots and resistance simultaneously. Learn to understand the concept of face for a better experience in asia. Juggling her chinese clan, gay lover, pregnant mom the. Saving face documentary analysis by gaby f on prezi.
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