Saturday, May 31, 2014

The Joy Luck Club (1993)


The life histories of four Asian women and their daughters reflect and guide each other.

Complex ensemble piece shifting seamlessly between past and present and hightlighting their relatedness; at times very touching without becoming too sentimental.

Halliwell (no star): "A long, slick, mostly sentimentalwallow in the pastthat fails to throw much light on the present or the future; it lacks the sense of culture clash and quirky humour evident in the director's earlier, low-budget films."

Maltin***: "Rich tapestry of eight stories...Starts losing its grip in the penultimate sequence, but soars again for a powerhouse finale that will have you reaching for a crying towel."


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