A Great Divide

As an Asian American dad, I'm happy to see a movie like this on screen. I loved Ken Jeong in a drama role and the storyline brought me to tears several times. I could relate to the relationships and heartbreak the characters felt. Beautifully shot and hopefully brings some insight to those who have not dealt with racism and prejudice before. The movie is an education in what many Asian Americans have felt for generations and continue to feel, especially during the pandemic. It's a story that needed to be told and makes me feel seen as an Asian American man. I hope to see more movies like this one.

I attended the Asian American International Film Festival watching a screening of A Great Divide. Jeff Yang, one of the writers and producers, was on hand with actress MeeWha Lee for a film Q&A afterwards. It looks like the movie will be available on Hulu (and possibly other streaming services) shortly. It needs to be seen far and wide. So many Asian Americans, like myself for one, can relate to the heartfelt stories of the father/ mother during their lives to get this point only to have to deal with xenophobia like never before while trying to adjust to life in Wyoming. I absolutely loved it! The actors, including Ken Jeong and Jae Suh Park, are wonderful in their roles. The cinematography is gorgeous. The story was powerful, sobering and at the same time carries a message that younger generations carry the potential for positive change. I fervently feel this well-written and relevant movie deserves Oscar noms!

I was looking forward to this film because I love the actor who played the dad. However, I was not a fan. The message was good, but I couldn't stand the acting by the son and Elli. The acting was so bad or their lines were not great. The actor who played the son gave dull energy, and the girl was over exaggerating. Why did they make the son's character dumb. It lacked storylines, and it did not give history off the only characters in the story. If they were meant to be in middle school, then it was okay acting because they were super naive. But if the characters were supposed to be in high school, why did the writers make them sound dumb. Everyone else did good acting wise. The scenery in the film is a nice close up of Yellowstone. This movie had potential and maybe they wanted the message to shine more than the plot and acting which is my takeaway of the film. I wish they either made it a horror like how strong Get Out was because the quiet scenes felt a little like that, but the communication in the film was cringey and forced. Again, if the goal was to feel good about being part of such an impactful film given the 2020 rise of racism towards Asians, then that was the only thing achieved in the film.

I had mixed feelings about this movie after seeing it as part of a festival run. Perhaps I went in with too high expectations because I fit the target audience. I'll start with the positives. I thought Ken Jeong was awesome as was Jamie McShane from Wednesday and Miya Cech an up and comer from Netflix and Disney. Smart casting of some better known actors. The woman playing the grandma and the teen boy that is a local bully were both good too. A big problem for me was the portrayal of exaggerated racism that didn't feel realistic even as a person of Korean descent. The movie moved slowly at times and the story line was disjointed. Overall I liked about as much as I disliked so I'll give it 5 stars.

I found this movie unexpected and really rewarding to watch. Yes, there were clichés but they're real life clichés, and the sum of the movie made everything fit and seem new and relevatory. I think this is due to the honesty in which the various themes and charactors stories were handled which made this movie wholly original. The performances were all amazing and the story was beautiful, gentle and real even with some of it's harsh reality.

I hope this kind of heartfelt, understated and beautiful movie starts a trend. It's what we need at this time. A movie that will help people breathe, heal and grow up.