Le club de la chance

Every time I look back at movies through the years, I find myself wondering why The Joy Luck Club did not make a huge splash in the awards circle. The film is one of the BEST FILMS of my lifetime. It will always represent to me, the dream that is America.

I think it's because the emotions of the film are so universal, that I count it as one of my favorites. I am male, I am hispanic, I came to the United States when I was 13 years old. I felt alienated, lonely and hopeless, could anyone really understand all that I wanted to do, all that I wanted to become. How do you reconcile your cultural roots, with wanting to fit into the American Dream.

I try to watch The JOY LUCK CLUB as often as I try to read the book. Because it reminds me that we are all connected in so many ways. That our dreams and desires are not all together different. that Love reaches beyond race, beyond politics and beyond time.

when I saw this film I thought, The Academy of Arts and Sciences would gush over it. But it never reached the kind of acclaim it truly deserved. I think it's because most film makers field of personal experience limited in reaching and feeling. Most of the Academy comes from back grounds that didn't see struggle, that doesn't see the world in unison, but in carefully separated categories. This to them was not a human experience film, it was a film for a minority group. But, while The JOY LUCK CLUB is life affirming to some, to those who have lived the similarities, it is life changing.

I have read the book and seen the movie. I have also read reactions to both. Some really liked it and found it to be very real, while others hate it and object to the "stereotype." It seems to depend on whether you could relate to the stories, characters, or themes.

I myself could relate very well to the stories, but that could be because I too have experienced the intergenerational and intercultural conflict as an American-born Chinese daughter with a very traditional Chinese mother. Many other American-born Chinese women who were born in the 1960s could relate to the stories very well also. For us, we would start crying as soon as the first sentence is made.

I didn't experience everything that June, Rose, Lena, or Waverly went through, but on a grander scale, they are dealing with issues that I have struggled with as well.

I understand that there are other women who could relate to it as well, and these are not Chinese women--or even Asian women. Perhaps Amy Tan has touched on universal themes that women of other nationalities could relate to.

On the other hand, I have found that some people who are ten years younger than me didn't like the book/movie too much and found the characters "stereotypical" or "unrealistic."

Some Caucasian males didn't like this book/movie either, and again it comes back to them not being able to relate to it.

I understand another user's comment about the negative portrayal of Asian men, but this person has forgotten about June's father who was portrayed as a very likeable man who was trying to bridge the gap between his wife and his daughter. As for his objection of the daughters marrying Caucasian wives, he needs to realize that there are other issues/reasons involved and it's not because Chinese-American women like them "hate Chinese men."

In short, this movie is very good at portraying the intergenerational and/or intercultural conflict between people who are caught between two cultures. Women like me have cried while watching this movie because the issues have been very real for us. For those who could not relate to it or cannot see the "reality" of it, then this movie would not be for them.

If you're an Asian-American woman with parental conflicts around culture then prepare to cry at this wonderfully fabulous film. So many cultural issues come up that you never know when you'll be hit with a wave of recognition. There are many laughs here as well. You just don't know when they'll arrive. This is a definite must for anyone struggling to understand how to incorporate their ethnic heritage in the massive American melting pot.

The first time I sat down to watch this it was just because there wasn't anything else on. I mean what would a single guy in his late twenties be interested in a film about relationship between Chinese-American women and their mothers? Well I was wrong. This film was very captivating and moving. It does excellent job of showing the universal issue of generational differences and the love that exist between parents and their children. All of the perfomances in this film were excellent. 8 out of 10 stars.

Joy Luck Club is a deeply moving film that will touch the heart and mind of anyone who opens themselves to it's messages about life.

If someone (such as darkfalz) feels this film speaks more of women's shallow choices, they miss out on humanity for the sake of superficial judgment.

This is a film about hard choices and sacrifice. It's a story of the generation gap that inevitably occurs between immigrant mother's and their daughters who were brought up surrounded by different values. Each mother strives to raise her children in a way that will bring them success and joy in life. Each hopes to free their offspring from the pains they themselves had to endure.

It is also about the Chinese way of pushing a child to be the best, and gives insight into a mother's need to see her own struggles amount to something great in her daughter. However, this is not just about Asians. It is about all parents hopes and all children's frustrations with fulfilling those dreams.

In America the story of the first generational gap is a very real and painful one. It happens for boys as much as girls, and I know a lot of men who relate to this film despite it's inherent chick flick nature. It celebrates the need to keep your roots and history alive, even if you let go of certain traditions that you were not born into.

The women in the film often make hard choices. Many of them folly and sin, but it is not a film about forgiving them so much as it is about the lasting effect of the choices we make.

Everyone should see this film. It's one of the most honest human dramas out there.