Saving Face (USA, 2005)
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.”
Workshop Instructor: Daryl Chin
Workshop Coordinator: Antony Wong
