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Saving Face

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Saving Face (2005)

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Reviews Counted:79

Fresh:68

Rotten:11

Average Rating:6.6/10

Consensus: A charming tale of a love affair that overcomes cultural taboos.

Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

Genre: Romance

US Box Office: $1,000,385

Synopsis: Saving Face is the charming story of a young woman's complicated life and her pursuit of love amid the chaos. Wil (Michelle Krusiec) is a 28-year-old overworked medical resident living in Manhattan... Saving Face is the charming story of a young woman's complicated life and her pursuit of love amid the chaos. Wil (Michelle Krusiec) is a 28-year-old overworked medical resident living in Manhattan with no social life. Her widowed mother, Ma (Joan Chen), cannot understand why her desirable daughter spends all her time at work. Ma, meanwhile, appears to be a traditional Chinese-American woman still under the thumb of her ultra-strict father. That Wil and her mother are both products of the very insular, traditional (and, yes…gossipy) Chinese-American community in Flushing, Queens makes the usual family ties even tighter. At a social function in the old neighborhood, one in which her mother insists Wil attend in search of a husband, Wil spots a beautiful young woman named Vivian (Lynn Chen), who returns her gaze. Shortly after, Wil and Vivian's paths cross again in the city. It turns out Vivian's father is Wil's boss at the hospital. A dancer taking time off to teach children, Vivian is instantly smitten with Wil and wants to help her relax and enjoy life a little more. Wil is equally smitten and soon is stealing whatever moments she can away from the hospital to meet Vivian for dates all over the city…except Queens. Wil shares the excitement of her new relationship with her friends but, for all her closeness with her mother, Wil has never come out. Thankfully, Manhattan and Flushing, Queens couldn't be further apart…that is until Wil returns home one night to find her Ma on her doorstep. Like Wil, Ma has been living a secret love life and is now pregnant and unwed, which is not acceptable in this tight knit community. Refusing to name the father, Ma has been kicked out and will have to live with Wil. Used to an independence that comes with living outside of the community, Wil now has to cope with introducing Vivian into her Ma's world. Anyone who's ever experienced the flush of love and the desire to keep it your own, without having to analyze or explain it, for as long as possible, will enjoy this multi-generational story of family, love, lust, romance, gossip and secrets within secrets. A true love letter to New York City, SAVING FACE is told with a great deal of warmth and humor, as everyone tries to sort out their emotions and fulfill their obligations…to themselves and to each other, while all along acknowledging their not-so-secret lives and trying to "save face." -- © Sony Pictures Classics [More]

Starring: Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, Jin Wang, Lynn Chen

Starring: Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, Jin Wang, Lynn Chen, Guang Lan Koh, Jessica Hecht, Ato Essandoh, David Shih

Director: Alice Wu

Director: Alice Wu
Screenwriter: Alice Wu
Producer: John Penotti, Robin O'Hara, James Lassiter, Will Smith
Composer: Anton Sanko
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

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Reviews for Saving Face

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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There’s a wedding, a death and two love affairs in Saving Face, and they all come as a surprise

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/30/05
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
08/05/05
Sydney Morning Herald
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/18/08
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
08/16/07
Dave Calhoun
Dave Calhoun
Time Out New York

Wu has abundant affection for her characters and a sharp eye for how they interact.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
08/03/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Exudes the kind of warmth and intelligence that delivers to well-defined segments of the indie-oriented audience.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Doris Toumarkine
Doris Toumarkine
Film Journal International

Abjectly collapses into feel-good nonsense.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
02/09/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
01/19/07
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
05/12/06
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

The message here, as in every quirky ethnic romantic comedy, is 'follow your heart.' But wouldn't it be great if for once the characters cared more about the continuity of antiquated cultural traditions than their own personal happiness?

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment 1 Comment
09/26/05
Scott Tobias
Scott Tobias
AV Club

If that sounds supremely sitcomy, well, it is. But Wu and her cast elevate the proceedings.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
09/16/05
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

This indie film's wrong turns include a feel-good finish as phony as any Hollywood ending.

Full Review Source: Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) | comment Comment
08/12/05
John Wirt
John Wirt
Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

Lesbian Chinese-Americans deserve sitcom fantasies of idealized romantic reassurance as much as anyone, I suppose...

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
07/22/05
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

First-time writer-director Alice Wu has taken the usual romance formula and given it cultural pizzazz.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
07/15/05
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

Although fun while it lasts, it's just another cute story about family and acceptance that could have been a lot more convincing and heartfelt with just a little more depth.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/14/05
Brian Mckay
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

Far from seeming weighed down by a need to satisfy various interest groups, “Face” is light-footed, at times cheeky and always true to its sharply-drawn cast of characters.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
07/14/05
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

It's a coming-out party for Krusiec, a bit player in Sweet Home Alabama who blossoms as a performer relaying emotion with deft touches and subtle yearning.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
07/13/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

...a Hollywood romantic comedy stripped of all the bombast and star turns.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
07/08/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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