The Joy Luck Club (1993)

I think I feared seeing "The Joy Luck Club" because it just screamed chick flick all over the cover, but my mother kept insisting it was an excellent film that anyone could really enjoy. So, I let my guards down and I was pleasantly surprised by this uplifting and rewarding drama about mother's and daughter's. Just wanting what is best and growing up wisely. I know this sounds silly, but this film made me not only appreciate being an American even more, but it also made me fell better as a woman. The four "Auntie's" had such wisdom and I felt that their stories were so heart wrenching but true and realistic.

One of my friends is from China and she told me how women are treated there and it just broke my heart, watching this movie helped me realize more how much I should appreciate what I have. I even called my mother after the film and told her I loved her because she always tried her best to look out for me. The four stories of how the mother's made their journey to America and raised their daughters was very touching and the ending felt like it could only be a new beginning. I would highly recommend this movie for anyone, it's perfectly directed and acted.

8/10

Fmovies: Words fail to capture the essence of this film. I read the book before I saw the movie and as anyone can tell you, the book for a movie is usually a lot better, but in this case and I think they are both on the same level. I watched this movie again for the umpteenth time today and every time I watch it I see the magic again. It makes me think of my own relationship with my mother and my relationship with my daughter. This is the story that made me feel in love with Asian film.

This film is truly a classic. The stories will touch your heart and make you laugh and cry. The cast did an excellent job of portraying these diverse women. You will love each character. A movie every woman should see.

The Joy Luck Club fmovies. I cannot praise this movie enough. It leaves me walking away feeling empowered! I had a very close relationship with my mother and after she passed this movie helped me with my grief. It is more than a "chick flick" it is a look into another culture's past, present and future. It is a light at the end of a tunnel for those that hold this movie dear to their hearts as I do. This movie helps you run thru all aspects of feelings, I find myself laughing, crying, sad, happy. Every woman I have shared this movie with or recommended to have thanked me endlessly for it. I have also read the book - now normally I would say the book was better but I'm going to have to agree with Theaterchica07's comment that the movie was easier to follow than the book. I reread it 3 times before my mind could actually put together the scenes. My favorite part of the movie is Rose standing in the rain and she says "You're not taking my house, you're not taking my daughter, you're not taking any part of me, because you don't know who I am. I died sixty years ago. I ate opium and I died for my daughter's sake. Now get out of my house!" That right there sent instant chills thru me. Well done!!!

The Joy Luck Club is one of the best edited movies I've ever seen. You know a film is well edited when the editing doesn't occur to you as you watch it. It takes a special film to go beyond that and call particular attention to how well it's all put together. But that's not only what makes this film great.

This film is more or less told as eight small vignettes. Usually in such a film, half to three quarters of them can be considered good. In this film, the stories of all eight women are great. They are well written, well acted, and tied perfectly into the frame of the story overall. They are funny, dramatic and shocking all at the same time. They are all interesting and very different from each other.

The films' only weakness, in my opinion, is the bookends. The story of the coming reunion of the three sisters. The "punch" that's so prevelant in all the vignettes is just not there in either the writing or the acting.

However, this is a great film, and one of the best of 1993. While I don't think any of the actresses could warrant any Oscar attention on their own, it certainly was a snub that the film itself wasn't nominated, and particularly Wayne Wang, the director. The Piano was a piece of garbage, and I cringe at the thought of it being mentioned in the same breath as Schindler's List and The Remains of the Day. And The Joy Luck Club.

Joy Luck Club is a deeply moving film that will touch the heart and mind of anyone who opens themselves to it's messages about life.

If someone (such as darkfalz) feels this film speaks more of women's shallow choices, they miss out on humanity for the sake of superficial judgment.

This is a film about hard choices and sacrifice. It's a story of the generation gap that inevitably occurs between immigrant mother's and their daughters who were brought up surrounded by different values. Each mother strives to raise her children in a way that will bring them success and joy in life. Each hopes to free their offspring from the pains they themselves had to endure.

It is also about the Chinese way of pushing a child to be the best, and gives insight into a mother's need to see her own struggles amount to something great in her daughter. However, this is not just about Asians. It is about all parents hopes and all children's frustrations with fulfilling those dreams.

In America the story of the first generational gap is a very real and painful one. It happens for boys as much as girls, and I know a lot of men who relate to this film despite it's inherent chick flick nature. It celebrates the need to keep your roots and history alive, even if you let go of certain traditions that you were not born into.

The women in the film often make hard choices. Many of them folly and sin, but it is not a film about forgiving them so much as it is about the lasting effect of the choices we make.

Everyone should see this film. It's one of the most honest human dramas out there.