#1276: WU, Alice: Saving Face (2004)

WU, Alice (United States)

Saving Face [2004]

Spine #1276

Blu-ray

A queer romantic comedy set in vibrant, multicultural New York City, Alice Wu’s irresistible feature debut breathed fresh life into the genre by combining snappy dialogue and a swooning love story with a poignant narrative about a mother and daughter coming to terms with each other. Just as Wil (Michelle Krusiec), a harried young surgical resident, begins a promising romance with the flirtatious dancer Vivian (Lynn Chen), her life is turned upside down when her more traditional Chinese mother (Joan Chen)—unwed and unexpectedly pregnant—moves in with her, forcing both women to confront the generational and cultural barriers that have long troubled their relationship. Both embracing and cleverly subverting rom-com conventions, Wu delivers a bighearted ode to the Chinese American diaspora, and the liberating joy of living one’s truth.

97 minutes

5.1 Surround

Color
in English, Mandarin

1:85:1

Criterion Release 2025

Directors/Writer

Alice Wu was 34 when she wrote and directed Saving Face.

The Film

Imagine the meeting that Wu must have taken:

"Listen, Alice — babe — we love the script, great stuff ... now about the leads. How 'bout we get Reese Witherspoon for the girl and Ellen Burstyn for the mom? I'm sure we can produce that."

Thank goodness Wu had the fortitude to resist such nonsense. She held her ground and not only got the casting she wanted, but managed to hang on to the extremely dicey idea of having most of the dialogue spoken in subtitled Mandarin.

All of this makes the story real and emotionally resonant. Each and every character rings true and enriches the story.

Joan Chen is magnificent as Ma, the middle generation of the family; Grandpa (Jin Wang) is a wise, Tai chi practicing old-school guy; Grandma (Guang Lan Koh) is more understanding of her granddaughter's proclivities.

Wil (Michelle Krusiec) must weave her way through all of these characters' attributes and peculiarities, while attending to her demanding job as a resident reconstructive surgeon.

Her new lover, Vivian (Lynn Chen), is a professional dancer, who is currently entertaining an offer from the Paris Ballet. Will she take the job and break up this sizzling romance?

With a nod to the final scenes of The Graduate (1967, Spine #800), Wu makes her case.

Props to the score (Anton Sanko) which contributes very subtle touches to certain scenes. But the delightful reaction the film provokes is entirely due to Wu, who worked her way through a miniscule budget ($2.5M) and a New York City location to make something quite unique and special.

The Extras

The Booklet

Featuring an essay by critic Phoebe Chen.

"To propose a variation on the adage: All good daughters are alike; each bad daughter is disappointing in her own way. In Alice Wu's debut film, Saving Face (2004), one bad daughter finds herself pregnant out of wedlock, trailed by gossip and subject to shaming even at her perimenopausal age. Another — her own daughter — is a young surgical resident, so gifted we hear talk of her precocity before we learn her name, Wilhelmina, though she has shed its lilting syllables for the neutral and unshowy Wil. Wil generally tilts toward self-effacement, defaulting to the easy androgyny of button-downs and sensible shoes. She rides the Manhattan-bound B train to work in the blushing dawn and assists with reconstructive surgeries in the operating room, but she cannot shake the sense of badness that clings to her like a shadow."

Commentary

Featuring Wu.

For a debut, it is obvious that Wu really learned her stuff before taking the director's helm. She talks about how carefully she and DP Harlan Bosmajian lit certain scenes.

Deleted scenes

With optional commentary by Wu.

Behind-the-scenes featurette

Program

Featuring Wu and members of the cast at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival

Trailer

88

By Director

By Spine #